Sugar Posts First Gain in Five Years as El Nino Ends Surplus

  • Price rally seen by analysts continuing in first quarter
  • Brazil diverts more cane for ethanol after tax changes
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After four bitter years, sugar mills can look forward to sweeter prospects in 2016.

Prices have rebounded 50 percent since reaching a seven-year low in August. Raw-sugar futures traded in New York posted a 5 percent gain for the year, their first annual advance since 2010. The market has finally swung to a supply deficit after years of surpluses. And the commodity will keep rising through the first quarter of next year, according to the average of 18 traders and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.