Sugar slid after data showed Indian production is running well ahead of last season, deepening a slump that has futures down more than 13% from last month’s peak.
Raw sugar futures in New York fell as much as 3.7% to their lowest intraday price since Sept. 23. White sugar in London was also down.
India produced 845,000 tons of the sweetener this season to the end of October, more than eight times the output from the same period last year, data from the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd. showed.
While mills have been crushing cane earlier than last year and the Indian government has taken steps to stabilize local supplies, the data rattled a market where prices had surged because of tight stockpiles in the top sugar-consuming country.
India’s strong start to the season is not a surprise, according to Delhi-based analyst Harsh Soni of Greenleaf Consultancy. “But when reality strikes, markets react,” he said.