New York sugar firmer

Raw sugar prices finished slightly firmer on Thursday on buying by small speculators, and the market was expected to stay range-bound into next week, brokers said.
The New York Board of Trade's March raw sugar contract added 0.03 cent to end at 11.53 cents per lb., dealing from 11.42 to 11.61 cents. May gain the same to 11.70 cents. One contract aside, the rest added 0.01 or 0.02 cent. "It's just sitting here and we're twiddling our thumbs.
The funds and specs would lean on it, and the trade is below to support it. There's nothing really to snap us out of that range from 11 to 12 cents," a long-time floor analyst said. Fundamentally, sugar values were seen staying on the defensive due to a supply glut in 2006/07 at a time when demand is seen remaining steady, but not great.
Analysts pointed to bearish news that India's government had released 1.3 million tonnes of sugar for sales this month. A supportive factor was news that Pakistani sugar mills have asked the government to allow duty-free imports of 200,000 tonnes of raw sugar this month to add to buffer stocks kept in case of any eventuality.
"There is demand, but the amount of supplies out there far exceeds the pace of consumption," one dealer said. Sugar started on a mixed note, slipped to its lows for the day on speculative fund pressure and then came back on trade purchases and covering by small speculators, traders said.
Technicians believe resistance in the March contract is at 12 and 12.05/08 cents, with support at 11.30 and in layers down to 11 cents. Volume before the close stood at meagre 17,790 lots, down from the previous count of 33,028 lots. Call volume reached 5,811 lots and puts amounted to 5,725 lots.
Open interest in the No 11 raw sugar market rose 2,317 to 475,251 lots as of November 1. The ethanol market was untraded. US domestic sugar prices settled higher. The January contract rose 0.25 cent to 19.65 cents per lb. and March gained the same to 19.75 cents. Two contracts aside, the rest added 0.15 to 0.24 cent. Volume before the end of business hit 312 lots, down from the prior tally of 503 lots.