On May 21 of the current year, raw sugar prices on the New York Commodity Exchange NY ICE (SBN25) rose by 0.36 cents (+2.08%) to reach 17.70 cents per pound. August contracts for white sugar on the London ICE Exchange (SWQ25) increased by $10.60 (+2.18%) to reach $497.70 per ton, according to information from Barchart.
The rise in prices was a result of the decrease in the dollar index to a two-week low, which prompted the closure of short positions on sugar. Prices also received additional support from data from the Brazilian company Unica: due to the low quality of sugarcane, processors are increasing ethanol production at the expense of reducing sugar output.