Sugar Surges To New All-Time High

London white sugar futures surged to a fresh all-time high Friday morning, with front month October hitting USD528.50/tonne, USD9.60 up on last night's close.

Monsoon rains continue to elude northern India, where much of the country's sugar cane is grown, whilst the Brazilian crop is being dogged by too much rain.

Increased demand from Mexico, who has also had weather problems with it's own crop, is seen further increasing the global sugar deficit this year.

India's monsoon rains were the lowest in over eighty years in June, although near normal rains in most areas in July gave rise to hopes that the worst was over. However, in the week to August 5th rains were 64% below normal, according to official weather data. Inadequate rains are forecast for the week ahead too, in a country where 60% of the land under cultivation relies entirely on natural rainfall.