Commodities Wrap 2 October: Sugar Jumps 5.12 Percent as Fuels Fall and the VIX Slides
The soft complex set the pace on Friday. Sugar jumped 5.12 percent to 19.91 cents a pound on its March 2027 contract, the strongest row on our commodities board, and cocoa rose 4.24 percent to 5,609.00 dollars a metric ton, while the Cboe Volatility Index fell 6.28 percent to 15.36, the board’s deepest move, in Friday’s Wall Street session after the September payrolls report showed 29,000 jobs added, as published in our report of 2 October. The fuels fell together, RBOB gasoline 2.31 percent lower and ULSD heating oil 1.84 percent, and the crudes diverged: WTI settled down 1.76 dollars at 91.11 dollars a barrel and Brent settled 6 cents lower at 102.25, Reuters reported, after a morning slide below 100. Natural gas rose 2.49 percent to lead energy, gold eased 0.75 percent to 4,170.80 dollars an ounce, back below the 4,200 dollar line, and the dollar index slipped 0.22 percent with sterling 0.33 percent higher.
Fuels drop as Brent recovers from below 100
The barrel spent the session recovering. Brent traded below 100 dollars in the Asian morning, at 99.88 dollars as our Asia Market Wrap of 2 October reported, and settled at 102.25, 6 cents under Thursday’s 102.31, after European Union countries agreed to release additional diesel stockpiles, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the discussions. By 20:00 GMT the December contract was quoted at 102.88 dollars, 0.56 percent above Thursday’s settlement. WTI did not close its gap the same way: it settled 1.90 percent lower at 91.11 dollars and was quoted at 91.55 at 20:00 GMT. On the 20:00 GMT quotes the products fell harder than the crudes. RBOB gasoline, 4.25 percent higher on Thursday on its new November contract, dropped 2.31 percent to 3.3240 dollars a gallon, and ULSD heating oil fell 1.84 percent to 4.5566. Natural gas was the strongest row in energy, 2.49 percent higher at 3.041 dollars a million Btu.
Energy
| Contract | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Natural Gas, NYMEX (Nov’26), dollars a million Btu | $3.041 | +2.49% |
| Brent Crude, ICE (Dec’26), dollars a barrel | $102.88 | +0.56% |
| WTI Crude, NYMEX (Nov’26), dollars a barrel | $91.55 | -1.42% |
| ULSD Heating Oil, NYMEX (Nov’26), dollars a gallon | $4.5566 | -1.84% |
| RBOB Gasoline, NYMEX (Nov’26), dollars a gallon | $3.3240 | -2.31% |
Levels as displayed in the price feed at 20:00 GMT on Friday 2 October 2026, ranked by change, measured against Thursday’s settlements as carried in the feed; post settlement window quotes, not the official settlements. Contract months as displayed in the feed. Settlements per Reuters: Brent 102.25 dollars, down 6 cents or 0.06 percent; WTI 91.11 dollars, down 1.76 dollars or 1.90 percent.
Sugar jumps 5.12 percent as gold slips back under 4,200
Sugar led agriculture for a second straight session, and this time its gain led the whole board: the March 2027 contract rose 5.12 percent to 19.91 cents a pound, and cocoa followed at 4.24 percent to 5,609.00 dollars a metric ton, with cotton 1.29 percent higher and coffee 0.87, while corn eased 1.00 percent. In the metals the dollar’s slip did not lift the complex. Copper added 0.69 percent to 6.583 dollars a pound, the table’s only riser, while gold eased 0.75 percent to 4,170.80 dollars an ounce, back below the 4,200 line it closed above on Thursday. Platinum fell 0.82 percent to 1,708.70, the table’s deepest row, silver 0.65 percent to 60.780 and palladium 0.46 percent to 1,174.50. The currency rows leaned away from the dollar: sterling rose 0.33 percent to 1.3243 and the euro 0.15 percent to 1.1258, the dollar index eased 0.22 percent to 101.876 and the dollar slipped 0.16 percent against the yen to 157.82, while bitcoin fell 0.36 percent to 84,343.60 dollars.
Metals
| Contract | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Copper, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars a pound | $6.583 | +0.69% |
| Palladium, NYMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | $1,174.50 | -0.46% |
| Silver, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | $60.780 | -0.65% |
| Gold, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | $4,170.80 | -0.75% |
| Platinum, NYMEX (Jan’27), dollars an ounce | $1,708.70 | -0.82% |
Levels as displayed in the price feed at 20:00 GMT on Friday 2 October 2026, ranked by change, measured against Thursday’s settlements as carried in the feed; post settlement window quotes, not the official settlements. Contract months as displayed in the feed.
Agriculture
| Contract | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar, ICE (Mar’27), cents a pound | 19.91 | +5.12% |
| Cocoa, ICE (Dec’26), dollars a metric ton | 5,609.00 | +4.24% |
| Cotton, ICE (Dec’26), cents a pound | 78.76 | +1.29% |
| Coffee, ICE (Dec’26), cents a pound | 290.75 | +0.87% |
| Corn, CBOT (Dec’26), cents a bushel | 497.25 | -1.00% |
Levels as displayed in the price feed at 20:00 GMT on Friday 2 October 2026, ranked by change, measured against Thursday’s reference levels as carried in the feed; post settlement window quotes, not the official settlements. Contract months as displayed in the feed. Wheat (Dec’26, 683.00 cents a bushel, up 0.04 percent) and soybeans (Nov’26, 1,277.25 cents a bushel, down 0.53 percent) are omitted as agriculture’s smallest absolute movers. The sugar row is the March 2027 contract, measured against its own series’ Thursday reference of 18.94 cents.
Rates, currencies, volatility and crypto
| Instrument | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Sterling/Dollar | 1.3243 | +0.33% |
| Euro/Dollar | 1.1258 | +0.15% |
| Dollar/Yen | 157.82 | -0.16% |
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 101.876 | -0.22% |
| Bitcoin, dollars | 84,343.60 | -0.36% |
| Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) | 15.36 | -6.28% |
Intraday quotes at 20:00 GMT on Friday 2 October 2026, ranked by change, measured against Thursday’s reference levels as carried in the feed.
Why it matters: The board’s two ends tell one story. Its strongest gain was sugar’s 5.12 percent jump, the second straight session the March contract has led agriculture, with cocoa’s 4.24 percent rise next, and its deepest move was the volatility row itself, the VIX 6.28 percent lower in Friday’s session after the payrolls report. In between, the crudes diverged: Brent’s morning slide below 100 dollars was recovered to a settlement 6 cents from Thursday’s, while WTI settled 1.90 percent lower and both fuel products fell, gasoline giving back about half of Thursday’s 4.25 percent rise on its new contract. Gold’s 0.75 percent slip put the metal back below the 4,200 dollar line.
Outlook: Tonight’s United States wrap carries this board’s commodity rows, and Monday’s board measures against Friday’s settlements on the same contract series, with the weekend in between.
Sources: CNBC, Reuters, The Edge.
