Oil became significantly cheaper over the week, exchange-traded sugar fell below USD 500/t and cocoa moved below the October low. For buyers in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, this means not fixing transport for long periods, buying sugar in stages and using the more favourable purchasing window for cocoa.
Oil fell by approximately 16% in one week
Brent fell from USD 113.43 per barrel (30 October) to approximately USD 95; sources report a weekly decline of 12.7% to 16% and describe it as one of the biggest weekly drops since 2020. The market is responding to hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East, the normalisation of shipping in the Persian Gulf and statements by the US president that further attacks on Iran are unlikely if progress in talks continues.
Exchange-traded sugar is falling, but the fundamentals have not changed
London white sugar ICE No. 5 (Dec-26) settled on 5 November at USD 499.90/t, approximately EUR 445/t and 3.6% less than on 30 October (USD 516.30/t). Regional spot prices eased only slightly: Lithuania (Marijampolė) EUR 530/t, Poland (Kalisz) EUR 580/t. The EU harvest estimate for the 2026/27 season remains approximately 20% lower than last year, so we do not expect larger downward moves.
Cocoa below the October low
Cocoa futures on ICE fell to USD 5,155/t on 6 November, below both the October low of USD 5,381/t and the October average of USD 5,633/t. Since the end of October, the decline is roughly 8%. The figure comes from the Cbonds index, not from the London quotation.
Wheat is falling; starches show no major movement
Vienna’s Kursblatt of 28 October lists food-grade wheat at EUR 229 to 230/t (EUR 235 to 240 a week earlier) and milling wheat at EUR 224/t. Tapioca starch FOB Bangkok was USD 680/t on 3 November (approximately EUR 609/t). Native potato starch FCA Łódź held at EUR 625/t according to the latest available record from 20 October. Caraway FCA Dordrecht fell to EUR 1,750/t according to Commodity Board (2 November, -2.8%).
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Sources: Trading Economics • AP/ttnews • Commodity Board • Cbonds • Börse Wien Kursblatt 44/2026 • Thai Tapioca Starch Association • ECB