Raw sugar reaches one-month low with focus on ample supply

Raw sugar futures traded on ICE hit a one-month low on Friday, 10, heading for a 7% loss on the week, with investors focusing on the ample supply and setting aside rising energy prices and the Iran war for now. Higher oil prices are “bullish” for sugar because they can lead sugar cane mills to reduce sugar production in favor of ethanol. This week, oil fell sharply amid negotiations for a ceasefire in Iran. Thus, the May raw sugar contract closed down 0.17 cent, or 1.2%, at 13.75 cents per pound, reaching its lowest value since early March. “The market remains more sensitive to its own supply and demand balance than to external factors,” said broker StoneX. “Sugar continues to show weakness, as during the recent recovery (of the futures market) the export premium (for physical sugar) in Santos did not follow suit. On the contrary, (it) decreased,” it added. China, the world’s second-largest importer of sugar, raised its forecast for sugar production for 2025/26 by 800,000 tons ...