NEW YORK: Raw sugar futures on ICE hit a more than one-year high on Friday but later fell as sugar producers took the opportunity to hedge their sales.
Cocoa prices soared to end the week with double digit gains.
SUGAR
Raw sugar settled down 0.63 cent, or 3.5percent, at 17.56 cents per lb, having earlier hit its highest since April 2025 at 18.66. The contract ended the week 0.3percent down. Dealers said the market rose on what appeared to be short covering by funds then eased on selling from Thai and Brazilian mills that took the opportunity of good prices to hedge their exports.
Excess rains have slowed the cane harvest in Brazil and there are more rains forecast for the world’s largest sugar grower in the next two weeks. The rains, which are linked to the El Nino weather pattern, are bullish because they reduce the amount of sucrose in the cane. Against that, however, depressed prices for cane-based ethanol in Brazil continue to tempt mills to ramp up sugar output at the expense of the biofuel.
White sugar fell 1.9percent to USD514.40 a metric ton, and posted a weekly loss of 6.7percent.
COCOA
New York cocoa settled up USD475, or 7.7percent, to USD6,648 a ton, having hit a 10-month peak of USD6,687. London cocoa rose more, jumping 8.3percent to £4,859 per ton. New York cocoa ended the week with a 10percent gain, while the London market gained 12percent. Top cocoa grower Ivory Coast is expected to keep the fixed price paid to cocoa farmers for their beans at 1,200 CFA francs (USD2.14) per kilogram for the 2026/27 main crop season that begins September 1, four industry and two government sources told Reuters on Friday.
A delayed start to the harvest in top grower Ivory Coast could lead to port congestion as exporters are expected to rush to ship beans before EU rules banning deforestation-linked imports take effect at the year-end.
COFFEE
Arabica coffee settled up 3.2 cents, or 1percent, at USD3.1285 per lb, having set a three-week low of USD3.0645 on Thursday. Arabica lost 3percent in the week.
The market was digesting a revision of preliminary August coffee export data by Brazilian exporting group Cecafe, which resulted in a large boost on shipments. Arabica coffee stocks on the ICE exchange, meanwhile, hit a 26-year low on Friday as dealers scrambled for scarce supplies amid concerns the physical market will remain tight in the months ahead.
Robusta coffee fell 0.7percent to USD3,529 a ton. The market fell 2percent weekly.
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