Sugar falls on RI concerns

Sugar falls on RI concerns

LONDON (Bloomberg): Sugar fell yesterday amid speculation that
Indonesia, Asia's third-biggest sugar importer, would not need to
buy more sugar in the coming weeks.

White, or refined, sugar for October delivery fell as much as
US$2, or 0.8 percent, to $245.20 a metric ton on the London
International Futures and Options Exchange, its lowest price
since June 10.

Beddu Amang, head of the Indonesian state logistics agency
Bulog, said the country needs to buy about 1 million metric tons
of sugar in 1998.

Bulog has purchased 1.16 million metric tons since July.
Increased Asian demand has helped sugar rise in recent weeks from
its lowest in 11 years, reached in New York in June.

Prices also fell ahead of the announcement of the European
Union's weekly export tender this afternoon. Last week, the EU
sugar management committee agreed to export 40,000 metric tons of
sugar at a lower export subsidy than the previous week.

London-based sugar traders said they expect the committee to
approve 50,000 metric tons of sugar exports yesterday.