- Ticker Symbol: SB
- Exchange: ICE
- Trading Hours: 8:10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m EST.
- Contract Size: 112,000 pounds (50 long tons)
- Contract Months: March, May, July, October
- Price Quote: price ounce. Ex 9.38 cents per pound
- Tick Size: one-half cent 1 point or 1/100 cent/lb., equivalent to $11.20 per contract.
- Last Trading Day: Last business day of the month preceding delivery month.
The largest sugarcane producing countries are Brazil, India, China, and Thailand; respectively. The largest producing states are Florida, Louisiana, Texas and Hawaii. The largest producing regions of sugar beets are Europe, U.S., China and Japan. The largest producing states of sugar beets are Minnesota, Idaho, North Dakota and Michigan.
Nearly 80 percent of world import demand comes from developing countries.
Around 70 percent of worldwide sugar production is consumed in the country that produced it.
The price of sugar reached an all-time high of 64 cents per pound in October of 1974. The all-time low of sugar at less than 2 cents occurred in the late 1960s.
The increase in usage for sugar-based ethanol in Brazil has supported sugar prices since 2006. Brazil is both the largest exporter of sugar and the largest producer and user of ethanol.
Weather should be watched in Brazil, India and the United States. Heavy rains, especially around harvest time, can cause crop losses to sugarcane, which may cause the price of sugar futures to move higher.
Sugar futures tend to move higher from September to December.
The increased production of ethanol from sugar in Brazil is a positive factor for prices to move higher over the long-term. If the price of crude oil moves higher, that should also support sugar futures prices.
