LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE rallied on Monday as oil prices headed higher and dealers remained concerned over what is expected to be a strong El Nino weather event.
SUGAR
Raw sugar rose 3.4percent to 14.54 cents per lb at 1451 GMT, having hit its lowest since late April last Thursday. Oil prices headed sharply higher after Iran and the US traded strikes and Israel ordered troops to move further into Lebanon.
Higher energy prices are bullish for sugar as they often tempt cane mills to produce more ethanol fuel and less sugar. Elsewhere, India has forecast an El Niño-weakened monsoon in 2026 that will bring the lowest rainfall in 11 years.
“If the forecast proves true, it would make it the weakest monsoon since 2015. The trade is watching the monsoon development for its potential effects on Indian cane production,” said broker ADMIS. White sugar rose 2.3 percent to USD448.40 a metric ton.
COFFEE
Arabica coffee fell 1.8 percent to USD2.6085 per lb, having closed down 2.5percent last week to mark five consecutive weeks of losses. * An expected bumper harvest in top grower Brazil is keeping coffee under pressure, though the harvest pace has been slow so far. Also, certified arabica stocks continue to fall, hitting the lowest since February at little over 435,000 bags. Robusta coffee fell1.1percent to USD3,437 a ton.
COCOA
London cocoa rose 0.3percent to 2,964 pounds a ton, having gained 4percent last week. New York cocoa dipped 0.2percent to USD3,916 a ton. Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast were up 2.2percent from the season start to May 31 versus the same period a year ago, exporters estimated.
Rainfall was mainly below average last week in most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa-growing regions but it was sufficient to boost the size and quality of the March-to-August mid-crop, farmers said.
Ecuador’s cocoa bean exports hit 32,175 metric tons in April, according to cocoa exporters association Anecacao.
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