Raw sugar gains on bullish technical signals; cocoa also gains

LONDON: Raw sugar futures on the ICE exchange rose on Friday, heading for a 1% weekly gain on bullish technical trade signals, while cocoa also climbed.

SUGAR

Raw sugar was up 1.8% at 15.12 cents per lb by 1134 GMT.

The contract has been creeping higher since hitting a five-year low of 14.04 cents/lb in November.

Broker ADM ISI said technical trade signals show sugar is vulnerable to a short-covering rally in the near term as it approaches 15.05 cents/lb.

Longer term, however, analysts are making upward revisions to surplus expectations for this season, with supplies set to grow and bearish demand signals prevailing.

One of incoming Coca-Cola CEO Henrique Braun’s challenges will be to accelerate the move to low sugar and functional beverages such as probiotic sodas, analysts said.

Elsewhere, Eli Lilly said its next-generation obesity drug helped patients to lose an average of 28.7% of their weight.

White sugar rose 1.1% to $429 a metric ton.

Raw sugar prices hit five-year low

COCOA

New York cocoa gained 1.1% to $6,358 a ton, after hitting a five-week high of $6,475.

Cocoa continues to gain on the back of speculative buying linked partly to its inclusion in the Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM) from 2026.

The potential for a slowdown in port arrivals in Ivory Coast during the first quarter of 2026 could also support prices, dealers said.

London cocoa jumped 2.1% to 4,584 pounds a ton after setting a five-week high of 4,625 pounds.

COFFEE

Robusta coffee was down 0.6% at $4,083 a ton, not far from the 2-1/2 month low of $4,046 set on Wednesday.

The harvest in top robusta producer Vietnam is slowly picking up after delays caused by storms and floods.

Arabica coffee was little changed at $3.7615 per lb.