BLBG: Sugar Gains in London, New York as Weaker Dollar Spurs Demand
By M. Shankar
June 3 (Bloomberg) -- Sugar rose in London and New York on speculation that a weaker dollar and this year’s slump in prices will spur consumers to expand stockpiles.
The U.S. Dollar Index, a gauge against six counterparts, slid as much as 0.6 percent to end a four-day winning streak. Most commodities gained, with the S&P GSCI Total Return Index of 24 raw materials rising as much as 1.3 percent.
“Across the spectrum, commodities and particularly sugar are” benefiting from the weaker dollar, said Jake Wetherall, a trader with Rabobank International Ltd. in London. “There is still a strong demand story in the near term.”
White sugar for August delivery advanced $5.20, or 1.1 percent, to $462 a metric ton on London’s Liffe exchange at 10:30 a.m. local time, paring this year’s decline to 35 percent. Raw sugar for July delivery rose 2.3 percent to 14.26 cents a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York, for a year-to-date drop of 47 percent.
Cocoa for July delivery added 11 pounds, or 0.4 percent, to 2,531 pounds ($3,721) a ton on Liffe, the highest price since at least 1989. Robusta coffee for July delivery fell $4 to $1,334 a ton.
To contact the reporter on this story: M. Shankar in London at mshankar@bloomberg.net.
