March NY world sugar #11 (SBH24) on Friday closed +0.68 (+2.58%), and Dec London white sugar #5 (SWZ23) closed +16.10 (+2.26%).
Sugar prices rose on Friday, posting moderate gains, with London sugar climbing to a 2-1/2 week high. The rally was sparked by a 5% surge in crude oil prices, which may prompt sugar mills to divert more cane crushing toward ethanol production rather than sugar, thus curbing sugar supplies.
The pressure on sugar prices had been building since Tuesday when Unica reported a substantial year-on-year increase in Brazil Center-South sugar output for the second half of September, rising by 98% to 3.364 million metric tonnes. Furthermore, sugar output in the 2023/24 crop year through September increased by 23.8% year-on-year to reach 32.615 million metric tonnes. This year, a higher proportion of crushed sugarcane, accounting for 49.54%, was allocated to sugar production, marking an increase from 45.46% the previous year.
