Sugar Prices Supported by a Weaker Dollar and Stronger Global Demand

Core Insights - Sugar prices have recently increased, with NY sugar reaching a 4-week high and London sugar a 1.5-week high, supported by a weaker dollar and stronger global demand, particularly from Pakistan's order of 320,000 MT of sugar for immediate delivery [1] Group 1: Market Trends - NY sugar futures hit a 4.25-year low last Tuesday, while London sugar reached a 4-year low, continuing a 7-month downtrend due to expectations of abundant global sugar supplies [2] - The International Sugar Organization (ISO) forecasts a global sugar deficit for the 2025/26 season, marking the sixth consecutive year of deficits, with a projected deficit of -231,000 MT, an improvement from -4.88 MMT in 2024/25 [5] Group 2: Production Insights - Brazil's sugar output increased by +18% year-on-year in the second half of August, totaling 3.872 MT, with the percentage of sugarcane crushed for sugar rising to 54.20% from 48.78% the previous year [3] - Cumulative sugar output in Brazil for the 2025-26 season through August fell by -1.9% year-on-year to 26.758 MMT [3] Group 3: Supply Dynamics - India may divert 4 MMT of sugar for ethanol production in 2025/26, which may not alleviate the country's sugar surplus and could lead to exports of up to 4 MMT, exceeding earlier expectations of 2 MMT [4] - Expectations for abundant sugar supplies are reinforced by projections of a 7.5 MMT global sugar surplus for the 2025/26 season, the largest in 8 years, and a record global sugar production forecast of 189.318 MMT, up +4.7% year-on-year [6]