Raw sugar sets near two-month high as crude oil rebounds

• July raw sugar was up 0.08 cents, or 0.7pc, at 11.27 cents per lb by 1315 GMT after peaking at 11.32 cents, the highest level for the front month since March 27.
• Brazil's coronavirus outbreak worsened on Wednesday and the South American nation could soon have the second-highest number of cases in the world.

LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE rose to their highest in almost two months on Thursday, boosted by further gains in crude oil prices and potential disruption to supplies from top exporter Brazil as the country's COVID-19 outbreak worsens.

SUGAR

July raw sugar was up 0.08 cents, or 0.7pc, at 11.27 cents per lb by 1315 GMT after peaking at 11.32 cents, the highest level for the front month since March 27.

Dealers noted the July contract had moved to a premium to October during the recent uptick in prices, indicating some concern about near-term supplies.

"The rally... suggests the market is placing a greater value on having access to supply. Brazil's handling of the COVID-19 epidemic is part of this worry," Commonwealth Bank of Australia Agri Commodities Strategist Tobin Gorey said.

Brazil's coronavirus outbreak worsened on Wednesday and the South American nation could soon have the second-highest number of cases in the world, as the Health Ministry reported 888 new deaths and nearly 20,000 new infections in a single day.

August white sugar was up $2.20, or 0.6pc, at $369.00 per tonne.

COFFEE

July arabica coffee rose 0.10 cents, or 0.1pc, to $1.0575 per lb.

The situation in Brazil, the top arabica producer, was also a major focus in coffee.

"The key risk continues to be a disruption in the Brazilian harvest, which will coincide with the projected peak in (COVID-19) infections in Brazil," Rabobank said in a report.

July robusta coffee was down $2, or 0.2pc, at $1,184 a tonne.

COCOA

July New York cocoa was down $34, or 1.4pc, at $2,367 a tonne, weighed partly by weakening demand.

July London cocoa fell 5 pounds, or 0.3pc, to 1,953 pounds a tonne?.