Sugar gains as frost damage assessments loom

LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE rose on Friday, having hit four-month highs during in the previous session, with investors waiting for assessments of the damage done to the cane crop from recent frosts.

SUGAR

October raw sugar rose 1.6% to 18.23 cents per lb by 1242 GMT, having hit its highest since late February on Thursday.

Brazilian agricultural areas were hit by frosts for a third day on Thursday, including in the key sugar producing state of Sao Paulo.

"Temperatures (are) now forecast to return to normal in (Brazil). Any damage to cane though is done and the assessments will filter through over the coming days," said Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Dealers said sugar is on balance set to move higher, though with physical demand very limited at the moment, it might become range bound at the recent higher levels.

Brazil exported 2.75 million tonnes of sugar in June vs 2.71 mln a year ago, data showed.

August white sugar rose 0.5% to $452.80 a tonne.

COFFEE

September arabica coffee fell 0.3% to $1.5595 per lb, having hit its highest since early June on Thursday.

Brokers and analysts think most of Brazil's coffee areas will be spared from frost damage.

Brazil exported 174,239 tonnes of green coffee in June vs 141,557 tonnes a year ago, data showed.

Coffee exports from Honduras, central America's top arabica exporter, soared 28.4% in June versus a year ago, data showed.

September robusta coffee rose 0.6% to $1,711 a tonne, having hit a 3-1/2 year high of $1,728 on Thursday.

COCOA

September New York cocoa slipped 0.2% to $2,352 a tonne.

September London cocoa rose 0.4% to 1,623 pounds per tonne.

"Cocoa has been in the doldrums as the pickup in demand will take longer to take shape given its reliance on the travel sector. We see prices averaging flat in 2022 compared with 2021," said Fitch Solutions in a note.