Sugar prices settled mixed on Wednesday, with NY sugar falling to a 1.5-week low as improving Indian monsoon rains raised prospects of higher sugar output. India’s Meteorological Department reported cumulative monsoon rainfall was 15% below normal as of July 29, a substantial improvement from 42% below normal on June 30. Prices recovered from their worst levels after Green Pool Commodity Specialists raised its global 2026/27 sugar deficit forecast to -3.3 MMT from a June estimate of -1.76 MMT, while StoneX raised its 2026/27 deficit forecast to -1.7 MMT from a May estimate of -550,000 MT. Strength in crude oil, with WTI surging more than 6%, also supported sugar by boosting ethanol prices and potentially diverting cane crushing away from sugar production. Concerns that a strong El Niño could curb rainfall in Brazil, India, and Thailand—the world’s three largest sugar-producing regions—remain a bullish factor.