Insight Focus
No.11 raw sugar futures remain below 15c/lb. Speculators became considerably more bearish, adding almost extending their net short to nearly -120k lots. Coffee prices remain elevated, although the Arabica and Robusta markets face different pressures.
New York No.11 Raw Sugar Futures
No.11 raw sugar futures moved lower for much of the week before recovering on Friday. The front contract reached a weekly low of 14.4c/lb on Thursday and settled at 14.7c/lb on Friday, down from 14.8c/lb at the end of the previous week.
Speculators have reduced their long position by 1.7k lots of longs and have added an additional 30.9k lots of short positions.
No.11 Commitment of Traders Report (August 3, 2026)
The current speculative net short position stands at -119,681 lots.
On the commercial side, end-users increased their position by 18k lots of longs whilst producers reduced their short positions by 16k lots of shorts.
No.11 & No.5 Open interest
The No.11 forward curve was almost unchanged over the week. No.5 futures strengthened across the curve, with contracts gaining around USD 3-4/tonne.
White Premium (Arbitrage)
The V/V white premium rose from around USD 137/tonne on Monday to above USD 138.7/tonne on Wednesday, before easing slightly to approximately USD 138.4/tonne on Thursday.
Robusta Coffee
Coffee prices remain elevated, although the two markets face different pressures. Arabica is trading around 331c/lb, supported by dry weather in Minas Gerais, Brazil’s largest Arabica-growing region, which could affect flowering and future crop prospects. By contrast, Robusta prices remain under pressure from stronger Vietnamese supply, with Vietnam’s coffee exports rising sharply year on year in July. Uganda also recorded higher exports, adding to the improvement in available supply.
Demand has improved slightly following Starbucks’ stronger-than-expected earnings and decision to move shares from Sell to Hold. However, supply remains the main market driver. Traders will continue to monitor Brazilian weather for the direction of Arabica prices, while Vietnam’s strong export pace is likely to weigh on Robusta. EU deforestation rules also remain an important issue for African exporters because of the additional compliance costs.
For a more detailed view of the sugar futures and market data, please refer to the appendix below.
No.11 (Raw Sugar) Appendix
No.5 (White Sugar) Appendix
White Premium Appendix
