REPORTS

• Speculators trim short position in raw sugar - Reuters- Speculators sharply reduced their net short position in raw sugar on ICE Futures U.S. in the week to May 5, trimming 21,139 contracts for a total short of 54,759 contracts, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.

 

• Drought and drop in area could support prices - ECRUU - Based on the planting data as of May 6, Soyuzrossahar suggests that total beet area will fall by 16.7% this year, while the ministry of agriculture pegs the drop at 17.5%. The head of Soyuzrossahar added that three plants said they would not operate this season. Moreover, the dry weather in the south and a strong export pace could help support prices. The Hydrometeorological Center of Russia warned that some regions were at risk of crop losses because of the lack of water, although the situation could still change with good precipitation in May.

 

• Ethanol demand drops 49% in April: MME – ECRUU - The demand for ethanol dropped 49% in April when compared to the previous year because of the coronavirus outbreak, according to the energy ministry (MME). The consumption of gasoline was down 35% while demand for cooking gas was up 12%. The industry can currently store around 17.2 billion L ethanol and is asking for financial help to increase capacity by 6 billion L, the Pecege center noted. Some 11.4 billion L was stored as of November 2019, while a lack of investment meant storage capacity did not increase in line with recent gains in ethanol output, it noted.

 

contact us