Sugar falls as market consolidates, Brazilian real weakens

By Reuters News15:00 (UTC), 30 October 2026 Updated

LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Raw sugar futures on ICE fell on Friday as the Brazilian real weakened and the market consolidated following three consecutive sessions of gains linked to forecasts for excess rains in top grower Brazil.

A weak real encourages mills, farmers and exporters in Brazil to sell dollar-priced sugar futures because it raises their returns in local currency terms.

SUGAR

* Raw sugar fell 1.1% to 19.25 cents per lb by 1428 GMT, having settled up 0.7% on Thursday.

* "The trade is weighing the collapse of the Brazilian real this week against more evidence of problems with this year’s production because of too much rain," said broker ADMIS in a note.

* Sugar production in Brazil's key center-south region fell 27.1% in the first half of October from a year earlier to 1.87 million metric tons, the Agriculture Ministry said on Wednesday.

* More rains are forecast for next week in Brazil, slowing the harvest, reducing the sugar content in the cane and increasing the chances of an early end to the harvest. The rains are linked to the El Nino weather pattern.

* White sugar fell 2.1% to $516.60 a metric ton.

COFFEE

* ICE arabica coffee futures rose 1.1% to $2.8850 per lb, having hit their lowest since late September on Thursday.

* Arabica is under pressure overall from improved supplies.

* Data showed the relentless drawdown in ICE-certified stocks is starting to moderate, with bags pending grading or quality controls gaining 5% overnight to nearly 44,000 , and stocks rising 1.4% to 225,068 .

* Robusta coffee rose 0.5% to $3,191 a ton, having hit its lowest since March 2024 on Monday.

* Robusta is also under overall pressure, with exchange stocks rising strongly and the harvest getting underway in top grower Vietnam.

COCOA

* London cocoa fell 0.5% to 4,232 pounds per ton, having hit a three-week low of £4,183.

* Cost-of-living pressures are a big challenge for chocolate makers Hershey HSY.N and Mondelez MDLZ.O this year, with data from market researcher NIQ showing US consumers are so far spending less on Halloween treats than in previous years.

* Against that however, cocoa markets are expected to tighten going forward. Analysts at Expana have reduced their 2026/27 forecast for top grower Ivory Coast by 40,000 tons to 1.83 million, citing "moisture stress".

* New York cocoa fell 0.6% to $5,421 a ton.