White, or refined, sugar fell to the lowest level in more than three months in London on speculation of increased sales from the world’s refiners and from Thailand, the second-biggest shipper, to supply Ramadan. Cocoa dropped. Millers in Thailand have had an incentive to re-melt raw sugar into the white variety, Kona Haque, an analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd., said at a media briefing yesterday. Sugar production in the country is running at 4,000 to 6,000 metric tons a day as mills re-melt raw sugar, F.O. Licht GmbH said on May 2. Production will be 10.1 million tons this season, up from a previous forecast of 9 million tons and near the record 10.2 million tons in 2011-12, according to Somsak Suwattiga, secretary general of the Office of the Cane and Sugar Board. “There are concerns that Thailand is upping their crush to make supplies more readily available for July’s Ramadan demand increase, and that this early production is leading to a glut on the market over the near term,� Sterling Smith, a futures specialist at Citigroup Inc. in Chicago, said in a report e-mailed yesterday. White, or refined, sugar for delivery in August fell 0.3 percent to $485.70 a ton by 10:30 a.m. on NYSE Liffe in London. The price touched $484.90 a ton, the lowest since Jan. 25. Raw sugar for delivery in July slid 0.2 percent to 17.43 cents a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Trading volumes in New York were 60 percent lower than the average for the past 100 days for this time of day, according to figures compiled by Bloomberg. White sugar for August delivery became cheaper than the October futures yesterday, a market structure known a contango that may indicate ample supplies. The August contract was $1.90 a ton cheaper than the futures for October. Ramadan Rush A rush to supply demand for Ramadan is creating a “supply glut near term,� Nick Penney, a senior trader at broker Sucden Financial Ltd. in London, said in a report e-mailed yesterday. Muslim nations usually stock up on sugar before the fasting month of Ramadan, which begins in July. While people fast during daylight hours, sweet treats are common at night. The premium white sugar futures command over the raw variety fell 14 percent so far this month to $101.54 a ton. Thai producers have been “blamed for knocking down the white premium,� according to Michael McDougall, head of the Brazil desk at broker Newedge Group in New York. Robusta coffee futures for July delivery slid 0.3 percent to $2,000 a ton on NYSE Liffe. Arabica coffee futures for July delivery were 0.5 percent lower at $1.435 a pound on ICE. Cocoa for July delivery fell 0.3 percent to 1,553 pounds ($2,417) a ton in London. Cocoa for July delivery slipped 0.3 percent to $2,385 a ton in New York. To contact the reporter on this story: Isis Almeida in London at Ialmeida3@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at Ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.

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