Raw sugar rises; robusta coffee posts 17% monthly loss

NEW YORK — Raw sugar futures on ICE closed up for the second consecutive session on Friday, although prices remained just above a nearly four-year low, while robusta coffee fell again to reach a 17% monthly loss.

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SUGAR: Raw sugar settled up 0.05 cent, or 0.3%, at 17.05 cents per pound (lb). The contract lost 2.3% in May.

Dealers said the recent decline in prices may have sparked increased activity in the physical market with talk of buying interest from China.

An improving outlook for major Asian producers linked to an early monsoon, however, should limit the scope of any recovery in prices, while sugar production in Brazil’s key center-south region was stronger than expected during the first half of May.