29/03/10 – Sugar climbed for the first time in three sessions as demand revived following a slump in prices. Orange juice rose, snapping a five-day slump.
India, the world´s biggest sugar consumer, may order makers of cookies and beverages to rely on imports in order to bolster domestic supplies, a government official said. Before today, futures tumbled 28 percent this month.
“This is an opportunity for those who have been waiting for prices to fall to make some purchases,” said Jeff Bauml, a senior vice president with R.J. O´Brien & Associates in New York. “The market will trend higher today.”
Raw sugar for May delivery rose 0.38 cent, or 2.2 percent, to 17.38 cents a pound at 9:42 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. Last week, the most-active contract tumbled 8.8 percent, the sixth straight drop.
Prices more than doubled last year as adverse weather reduced crops in Brazil and India, the biggest producers. Before today, sugar plunged 37 percent this quarter, heading for the biggest drop since 1985. | 