LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE climbed above their one-year peak on Thursday, driven by concern that a strengthening El Nino weather phenomenon could curb global production and the possibility that India may import the sweetener.
SUGAR
Raw sugar gained 1.65percent to 17.84 cents per lb at 0954 GMT, having risen to a more than one-year high of 17.99 cents earlier in the session. Investors, food companies and commodities traders, driven by fears that the El Nino event could hurt global sugar production, drove record-high open interest in sugar contracts last week, the Intercontinental Exchange said on Wednesday. Dealers noted record prices in India may lead the world’s number-two producer to import sugar in the near future.
India, seeking to tame record sugar prices, has ordered that no bulk consumer using more than 10 metric tons of the sweetener a month shall hold inventories for more than 15 days. White sugar rose 2percent to USD552.90 a ton, having hit its highest price since March 2025 at USD564.40.
COCOA
ICE London cocoa fell 2.9percent to £4,189 a ton. Dealers said crops in West Africa were expected to decline in the 2026/27 season but not as steeply as had been feared a few weeks ago, leading to forecasts there could be another global surplus.
The global cocoa market is expected to see its surplus narrow to 111,000 tons in 2026/27 from 325,000 tons in the previous cycle, financial services firm Hedgepoint Global Markets said on Wednesday.
A Reuters poll issued in late July had a consensus forecast of a balanced market in 2026/27. New York cocoa lost 2.7percent to USD5,870 a ton.
COFFEE
ICE arabica coffee fell 1percent to USD3.2495 per lb, extending the market’s retreat from a one-month high of USD3.3715 set on Wednesday. Robusta coffee lost 0.1percent to USD3,723 a ton.
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