LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE rose to the highest level in more than a year on Tuesday, as funds bought the commodity against the backdrop of diminished production prospects across the globe.
SUGAR
Raw sugar gained 3.4percent to 17.44 cents per lb at 1042 GMT, having risen to a more than one-year high of 17.50 cents. Dealers said a strengthening El Niño weather pattern was leading to expectations that a projected global deficit in 2026/27 could be larger than previously forecast.
Deepcore, a physical sugar broker, said in a note that funds were also estimated to now be net long for the first time since late 2024. “The constructive side remains real.
Global deficit estimates have been revised higher, Centre-South Brazil sugar output has disappointed, India weather risk remains alive, and ethanol values have finally started to recover after four consecutive months of declines,” the broker said.
Higher ethanol prices can lead mills to make use of cane to produce the biofuel, curtailing sugar output. White sugar rose 3.1percent to USD539 a metric ton, having hit its highest price since April 2025 at USD541.40.
India is considering a raft of measures, from limited duty-free sugar imports to tighter stockholding limits for bulk traders, in a bid to bolster supplies and rein in record prices, government and industry sources said on Tuesday.
COFFEE
ICE arabica coffee fell 0.3percent to USD3.1695 per lb. Dealers said short-term supplies remained tight but may improve in coming months while demand remains sluggish.
Robusta coffee lost 0.4percent to USD3,628 a ton.
COCOA ICE
London cocoa fell 0.4percent to £4,337 a ton. Dealers said port arrivals in top grower Ivory Coast had slowed significantly, although for the season as a whole they remain about 20percent higher than last season. New York cocoa lost 0.7percent to USD6,026 a ton.
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