World raw sugar prices advanced on ICE Futures U.S. Friday and retraced some of the previous day's losses, encouraged by a rise in the Dow Industrials and other commodities while the dollar eased for a while. ICE futures and options volume was moderate.ICE March 2009 world sugar ended 14 points higher at 12.01 cents a pound, with May 2009 up 15 points at 12.34. July 2009 gained 19 points to 12.56 cents.
The U.S. non-farm payrolls fell a greater-than-expected 240,000 in October, and a huge downward revision left September's job loss at 284,000.
Brazilian officials are considering new financing to help the nation's cane industry, with an announcement possible next week. Brazil's sugar-ethanol producers need more credit to run operations, export, and store inventories in the inter-harvest period, the head of cane-group Unica said.
Brazil, the top cane-ethanol exporter, is preparing to fight environmental barriers that might be imposed on ethanol imports by the European Union. Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mozambique and other African nations plan to send a letter to the E.U. and will complain to the World Trade Organization if the E.U. introduces barriers to ethanol entry. European environmentalists are worried in part that expanding Brazilian cane-ethanol output will encroach on the Amazon rainforest.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms forecast for Brazil's center-south through Tuesday should cause some cane-cutting delays, before the harvest wraps up in mid-December.
Russia imported 1.86 million tons of raws from January to September, down 27% on the year, the nation's customs service said.
