Sugar Prices Up to 5-Month Highs
2026-03-24 13:53
By
Luisa Carvalho
1 min. read
Sugar futures in the US rose toward 15.8 US cents, the highest level since mid-October 2025, largely driven by a renewed increase in oil prices amid the ongoing Middle East conflict.
With higher oil prices, there is a growing trend of directing sugarcane production towards ethanol, reducing the supply of sugar on the international market.
A recent report by Czarnikow indicated several countries across Asia, including India, are expanding ethanol use in transport fuels amid high oil prices that continue to pressure gasoline demand.
Ethanol production in top producer Brazil is forecast to rise by some 4 billion liters in the 2026/27 season from a year earlier, which would set a record level, according to industry sources.
Nonetheless, price gains remain capped by abundant supply, particularly from India and Brazil.
Market attention is now focused on weather conditions in the key Center-South region, ahead of the 2026/27 harvest scheduled to start in April.