Raw sugar tears through 20 cents/lb level, hits 19-month high

By Reuters News

LONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Raw sugar futures on ICE surged past the 20 cents/lb level to hit a 19-month peak on Monday amid worries over further El Nino-linked excess rains in top grower Brazil.


SUGAR

* Raw sugar rose 3.6% to 20.65 cents per lb at 1351 GMT, after scaling a 19-month high of 20.79 cents. The contract gained 7.7% last week.

* "Given record September rainfall (in Brazil) and an outlook for more right through October, it seems the market is convinced sugar (output) will fall well short of estimates," said analysts at Green Pool.

* Brazilian production dropped 41.6% in the first half of September due to excess rains.

* El Nino is expected to adversely affect crops in all three top sugar growers — Brazil, India and Thailand. The coming EU crop is also set to fall sharply due to his summer's drought.

* White sugar gained 2.9% to $546.80 a metric ton, having hit its highest since late August at $550.60.

COFFEE

* Arabica coffee rose 2.2% to $2.95 per lb, having gained 3.6% last week.

* Arabica has been boosted near term by quality concerns owing to excess El Nino-linked rains in top grower Brazil, and worries the weather pattern might cause dryness ahead.

* Sucafina's David Behrends said while a large Brazil crop is still expected in 2026/27, some players remain bullish near term due to tight stocks and elevated physical prices in Colombia and Central America.

* Robusta coffee rose 1.7% to $3,527 a ton.

* Top robusta grower Vietnam exported 1.45 million metric tons of coffee in the first nine months of 2026, up 16.2%.

COCOA

* London cocoa rose 2% to £4,325 per ton.

* Dealers said cocoa remains range-bound overall, stuck between surplus supplies at present and a worsening outlook for 2026/27 linked to the El Nino weather pattern.

* Ivory Coast's main crop is seen falling around 17% this season, according to a Reuters survey, while Ivorian farmers said Monday poor rainfall risks bringing the September-to-February main crop to an early end.

* Cocoa arrivals at Ivorian ports stood at 18,000 metric tons in the week to October 4, bringing the total since the 2025/26 season start to 54,500 tons.

* New York cocoa rose 1.9% to $5,779 a ton.

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