NEW YORK: Raw sugar futures on ICE slumped to a three-week low on Tuesday, extending the market’s recent pullback after prices had surged to a five-month high in late March, while cocoa and coffee prices also fell.
Raw sugar settled down 2.6percent at 14.58 cents per lb, a three-week low. Dealers said the market has undergone a significant pullback after rallying from a low of 13.61 cents in early March to a five-month peak of 16.10 cents late last month.
Prices were further pressured by reports that India, the world’s second-largest producer, has no plans to impose curbs on sugar exports.
However, traders said the scope for further losses could be limited, with strength in energy prices likely to encourage greater use of cane for ethanol production rather than sugar, particularly in Brazil. Dealers said the market was also underpinned by concern that an El Nino weather event could reduce sugar production, especially in India, potentially leading to a global deficit in the 2026/27 season.
India is expected to receive below-normal monsoon rainfall in 2026, private weather forecaster Skymet said on Tuesday, citing El Nino-driven declines in precipitation in the latter half of the June–September rainy season.
White sugar closed down 1.6percent at USD428.70 a metric ton. COCOA London cocoa dropped 5.2percent to settle at 2,331 pounds a ton, lowest in two weeks.
Dealers said weak demand remained a concern, with first-quarter grind data due later this month expected to show year-on-year declines in Europe, North America and Asia.
New York cocoa fell 6.4percent to USD3,028 a ton. Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast since the start of the season on October 1 reached 1.445 million tons by April 5, up 0.2percent from the same period last season, exporters estimated on Tuesday. COFFEE
Arabica coffee lost 4percent to USD2.861 per lb. Honduras’ coffee exports rose 29.6percent year-on-year in March, according to data released on Monday by the Honduran Coffee Institute (IHCAFE). Robusta coffee fell 3.9 percent to USD3,315 a ton.
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