Indian sugar prices rose on Thursday on expectations of lower output this season and a pick-up in demand for the sweetener in summer. The most active May sugar contract on the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange was 1.63 percent higher at 3,495 rupees ($52.51) per 100 kg at 1258 GMT. India has lowered its sugar output estimate by 1.4 percent from a previous official forecast, potentially boosting prices and helping money-losing mills after six straight years of surplus production.
The contract earlier touched its highest level since July 2014 as Malaysian palm oil inventories in March are forecast to have dropped below 2 million tonnes with production coming in at its weakest for the month since 2007, a Thomson Reuters survey showed. India imports palm oil and a drop in Malaysian oil inventories could help Indian soyabean and soyaoil prices.