WTI Front Futures (Sept) Rise to 88.73

September WTI is trading at $88.73 per barrel (CL,U6) a day-on-day change of 2.9%, gaining 26% so far in July. Reports of vessels turning around in the Red Sea have heightened supply concerns.

Sugar (Number 11) Futures Down 35%

Sugar futures are down 35% this year, at lowest levels since 2020. 

Sugar No. 11, futures contract (SB) for raw centrifugal cane sugar, traded on the ICE, is the world benchmark for sugar trading.

The centrifugal reference alludes to the production process,  where crystallised sugar-and-molasses mixture is spun in a high-speed centrifuge. This separates sugar from molasses, yielding raw or semi-refined sugar. 

1 futures = 112,000 pounds of sugar, physically settled, FOB receiver's vessel (the port must be in the sugar's country of origin). This is around 50,000 kilograms of sugar.  (1 pound = 0.45xx kg of sugar).

Contract months are March, May, July, October.

Sugar is one of the most traded futures contracts on ICE, with 31.5 million contracts traded so far in 2025 (35 million contracts traded in 2024).

Copersucar SA (Brazil) is the world's largest trader of sugar and ethanol.

Sugar and ethanol are related - in that ethanol and carbon dioxide are produced when sugar is fermented.

30 year low for Baltic Sea Freight Index

The main sea freight index run by the Baltic Exchange dropped to a 30-year low - it's lowest level since the 1980s. The index tracks daily earnings for dry bulk vessels comprising Capesize, Panamax, Supramax and Handysize.

The largest of these ships are Capesize, they are too large to transit through the Suez Canal (see later note)  or Panama Canal and thus must pass through the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn. Specialist brokers exist for Capesize trades.   Capesize bulk carriers are used to transport iron ore, coal and commodity raw materials.

Little know facts:

• The Cape of Good Hope is not the Southernmost tip of Africa. That honour in fact goes to Cape Agulhas.
• After the deepening of the Suez Canal in 2009 (from 18m to 20m) many Capesize vessels can now pass through the Suez Canal.

Capesize vessels can only stop in large ports with deep-water terminals.