Sugar Falls to New Lows

The price of sugar futures fell to new lows Tuesday as the worldwide surplus weighed on the market.

The move coincided with the announcement by Coca-Cola that it was changing the formula for the soft drink of the same name, but sugar analysts said the announcement had little if any impact on the market since the soft drink bottler already had substituted high fructose corn syrup for almost all of the sugar in the soft drink.

Pamela Rockley, a sugar analyst in New York with Pershing Futures, said the contract for delivery in May is nearing the period when deliveries can be made, and many traders were anxious to close out positions “because nobody wants to take delivery.”

The worldwide surplus of sugar has been estimated by the Agriculture Department at about 39.4 million metric tons and production this year is expected to exceed annual consumption, adding to the glut, Miss Rockley said. A metric ton is 2,204.6 pounds.

On the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange in New York, sugar settled 0.04 cent to 0.08 cent lower with the contract for delivery in May at 3.27 cents a pound.