Sugar Falls as Global-Supply Concerns Ease; Orange Juice Drops

Sugar fell in New York for the third time in four sessions on renewed concern that output will top forecasts in India, the world’s second-biggest grower. Orange juice dropped to the lowest price in more than three months.

The National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd. said last week that India’s production may jump to 18.5 million metric tons in the year ending Sept. 30, more than the 14 million to 15.5 million expected earlier. Sugar is down 41 percent this year after doubling in 2009 amid a supply deficit.

Sugar changed from “a shooting star to a falling meteorite” as “the market adjusts its perception of a shortage of the product to a more comfortable supply situation,” Michael McDougall, a senior vice president at Newedge USA in New York, said in a report.

Raw sugar for May delivery slipped 0.51 cent, or 3.1 percent, to 15.89 cents a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. On April 1, the most-active contract touched 15.46 cents, the lowest level since June 8.

Output in Brazil’s Center South, the world’s largest producing area, will rise to a record in the season that started on April 1, according to a March 31 report from Unica, an industry group.

“Support looks to be clustered around 14 cents to 16 cents, but 18 cents to 20 cents looks for now to be a tough nut to crack,” McDougall said.

In another ICE market, orange juice for May delivery fell 2.3 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $1.334 a pound in New York, after touching $1.286, the lowest level for a most-active contract since Dec. 31. Prices have climbed 3.4 percent this year.

Yi Tian
Source: Bloomberg