US MIDDAY: sugar higher on speculators buying

New York raw sugar futures were called to open 0.10 to 0.15 cent higher Tuesday, based on higher London white sugar prices and market orders as of 8:25 am EDT (1225 GMT), according to floor brokers.
In London, Liffe October sugar was up $7.90 at $309.50 a tonne. On Monday, benchmark October sugar at the New York Board of Trade gained 0.07 cent to finish at 9.83 cents a lb after trading 9.79 to 9.94 cents.
The trade and speculators were buyers as energy prices surged after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the US Gulf Coast, disrupting oil production and refining. Sugar is seen by many as an energy product because cane is increasingly being diverted into producing ethanol - a fast-growing additive in the fuel industry.