LONDON: ICE raw sugar futures hit a new 4-1/2 month peak on Friday, with energy and equity markets higher and the Brazilian real firm, deterring exporters from selling dollar-priced sugar by lowering their returns in local currency terms.

SUGAR

May raw sugar rose 1.1% to 20.06 cents per lb at 1132 GMT after climbing to a high of 20.10 cents. India could export a record 9 million tonnes of sugar in the 2021/22 marketing year as production is likely to jump to a record 35 million tonnes, nearly 5% more than the previous estimate, a leading trade body said.

Dealers said there is no compelling reason for prices to be above 20 cents, and sugar could easily correct if macro-economic factors turn negative. Sugar supplies are ample, they noted, in India and Thailand, though question marks remain as to how much sugar top producer Brazil will churn out. May white sugar rose 1.1% to $554.60 a tonne.

COFFEE

May arabica coffee rose 0.8% to $2.2800 per lb. “Both arabica coffee and cocoa are ‘luxury’ commodities and we expect the (Russia-Ukraine) war to weigh on demand and prices for the foreseeable future,” said Fitch Solutions in a note.

July robusta coffee rose 0.7% to $2,080 a tonne, a three-week low. Top robusta producer Vietnam exported 581,693 tonnes of coffee in the first quarter, up 28.3% from the same period a year earlier.

COCOA

July London cocoa rose 0.7% to 1,800 pounds per tonne as the market continued to derive support from a poor crop in Ghana, the world’s second-largest producer. July New York cocoa rose 1.2% to $2,658 a tonne.

July New York cocoa may test a resistance at $2,601 per tonne, a break above which could lead to a gain to $2,636, according to Reuters technicals analyst Wang Tao.