LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE rose on Thursday boosted by a sharp rise in energy prices although the market remained well below a five-month peak set earlier this week.
SUGAR
Raw sugar gained 0.9percent to 15.43 cents per lb by 1048 GMT. The market had climbed to a five-month high of 16.10 cents on Monday. Dealers said the strength of energy prices would lead to more use of cane to produce ethanol rather than sugar particularly in Brazil. BMI said in a note that it expected global sugar production to fall 2.3percent in 2026/27 “primarily driven by an expectation that Brazilian output will fall by 8.7percent year-on-year as increasingly favourable crushing economics continue to redirect cane processing towards ethanol over sugar.” White sugar rose 1percent to USD446.60 a metric ton.
COCOA
London cocoa was up 0.45percent at 2,481 pounds per metric ton. Dealers said the market continued to struggle to sustain prices above 2,500 pounds.
They noted the focus was moving to first-quarter grind data. European and North American reports are both scheduled to be issued on April 16.
A decline is expected in Europe of perhaps 2percent to 4percent while a steeper drop of 10percent to 12percent is anticipated in North America. New York cocoa lost 1.4percent to USD3,295 a ton.
COFFEE
Robusta coffee fell 1.4percent to USD3,473 a ton. A trader in Vietnam said a possible fertiliser shortage is not an immediate concern for coffee growers but could emerge as an issue in the next two months when farmers will need fertilisers to boost cherry development Arabica coffee lost 0.7percent to USD2.9565 per lb.
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