Raw sugar gains

LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE rose on Wednesday as risk appetite improved in the wider financial markets, tempting investors to overlook news of surging output in top producer Brazil.

Coffee and cocoa futures also rose.

October raw sugar had risen 0.13 cent, or 1%, to 12.87 cents per lb by 1455 GMT, edging back towards the five month high of 13 cents hit last Friday.

Dealers said the market looks rangebound, but with an upside bias as speculators are bent on increasing their long positions amid the improved mood in financial markets.

Still, sugar's upside remains capped by excess supply. Sugar output in Brazil's main production belt rose 37% in the second half of July year-on-year to 3.41 million tonnes, putting mills on track for record output this season.

"The determination of financial players to bet on a further rise in sugar prices is impressive. Brazil is about to produce 10 million tonnes more than expected last winter and consumption," said consultants Agritel in a note.

October white sugar rose $1.90, or 0.5%, to $373.80 a tonne. December arabica coffee rose 0.65 cents, or 0.6%, to $1.1420 per lb, reversing four sessions of losses that knocked it down sharply from last week's 4-1/2-month peak.

Coffee is under pressure from a weak Brazilian real and a bumper harvest in top producer Brazil, though there are growing concerns about tightness in exchange deliverable supplies as ICE stocks tumble.

November robusta coffee rose $2, or 0.2%, to $1,339 a tonne.

Vietnam, the world's top robusta producer, exported 1.83 million 60-kg bags of coffee in July, down 13.8% from June, data showed. For the first seven months of the year, Vietnam's exports were down 1.1% from a year earlier.

December New York cocoa rose $18, or 0.7%, to $2,466 a tonne.

December London cocoa rose 17 pounds, or 1%, to 1,703 pounds per tonne.

Ghana expects cocoa output of around 900,000 tonnes in the 2020/2021 season, up 5.8% from the forecast for 2019/2020, the country's Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) said.