14/04/10 – Sugar rose for a fourth session in New York, heading for the longest rally in five months, on speculation that importing countries will boost purchases.
The International Sugar Organization in London has forecast that demand will exceed output by 8 million metric tons in the 12 months that end in September. Pakistan plans to buy 1.2 million tons by June, and Russia may purchase at least 1 million tons next month. Sugar futures are down 42 percent since reaching a 29-year high in February.
“These are attractive prices for buyers to come back,” said Bruno Lima, a risk-management consultant at broker FCStone in Campinas, Brazil. “The supply deficit is a reality in the short term.”
Raw sugar for July delivery rose 0.48 cent, or 2.8 percent, to 17.71 cents a pound at 9:22 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. A close at that level would mark an 8.5 percent gain for the contract since April 8.
Prices, which more than doubled in 2009 as adverse weather reduced output, have plunged this year on forecasts for bigger crops in Brazil, the world´s leading producer, and India, the second-largest. | 