Raw-Sugar Prices Rise in New York as Drought May Boost Imports by Russia
Raw-sugar futures gained in New York on speculation that Russia, the world’s third-biggest importer, will boost purchases as the worst drought in at least half a century threatens production.
Drought and record heat in central Russia and along the Volga River forced the government to declare emergencies in 28 farm regions. Sugar beets are among crops being damaged, the national weather center said this week. Russia, the world’s third-biggest exporter of wheat in 2009, has banned grain exports from Aug. 15 to Dec. 31.
“Russia’s imports should rise significantly,” said Bruno Lima, a risk-management consultant at FCStone Group in Campinas, Brazil. “This news should support the market.”
Raw sugar for October delivery gained 0.08 cent, or 0.4 percent, to 18.37 cents a pound on ICE Futures U.S. at 10:21 a.m. in New York. The most-active contract climbed 22 percent last month as importers increased purchases to replenish stockpiles.
“The situation in Russia is worrying,” said Jonathan Kingsman, a managing director of Kingsman SA, a sugar and ethanol research company in Lausanne, Switzerland.
White, or refined, sugar futures for October delivery were unchanged at $545.20 a metric ton on Liffe exchange in London, after advancing as much as 1 percent.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alistair Holloway in London at aholloway1@bloomberg.net; Debarati Roy in New York at droy5@bloomberg.net
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