Sugar heads for first gain in five years as El Nino ends surplus

NEW YORK: After four bitter years, sugar mills can look forward to sweeter prospects in 2016.

Prices have rebounded 50% since reaching a seven- year low in August. Raw-sugar futures traded in New York are heading for a 4.3% gain for the year, their first annual advance since 2010. The market has finally swung to a supply deficit after years of surpluses. And the commodity will keep rising through the first quarter of next year, according to the average of 18 traders and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.