By Yi Tian Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Sugar prices rose for the first time in four sessions as a weaker dollar boosts the appeal of commodities as a hedge against inflation and on speculation that global supplies will continue to be tight. The greenback fell as much as 1 percent against a basket of six major currencies, while the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials climbed, snapping a three-day decline. Before today, sugar jumped 97 percent this year as adverse weather limited harvests in Brazil and India, the largest cane growers, contributing to a second straight global-production deficit. “The dollar went down hard today and all the commodities are rising, including sugar,” said Michael K. Smith, the president of T&K Futures & Options in Port St. Lucie, Florida. “Also, all the bad news is still there. India’s crop is going to be very bad and Brazil is not going to offset that.” Raw-sugar futures for March delivery rose 0.42 cent, or 1.8 percent, to 23.64 cents a pound at 9:21 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Prices dropped 3.3 percent in the previous three sessions as the dollar rebounded. Sugar is in “a nice run to the upside” as supplies are “getting used up immediately,” Smith said. Prices will peak at 30 cents in six months as more sugar becomes available, he said.

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