Raw sugar futures in New York ended lower on Tuesday as producer selling emerged near the top of the range, with further losses expected in the near term, sources said.
New York Board of Trade's March raw sugar contract settled down 0.17 cent at 11.58 cents per lb, near the lower end of its 11.55 to 11.74 band. May lose 0.16 to 11.74 cents, with the rest of the board down 0.12 to 0.14 cent. "It was the usual cast of characters selling it today.
When the market gets up, near that 12-cent level, the producers come in a knock it back down," said one broker. Analysts noted the market's bearish fundamentals would likely keep prices on the defensive due to a sizeable surplus for the 2006/07 season hanging over the market.
"I think there is a general lack of faith settling into the market. I think the fundamental picture is not so overwhelmingly bullish that the market will be hard pressed to make any more bounces and it will not be long before we actually go down to 11.00 cents," said Marquis Sonnen of Sonnen and Co Inc.
On the fundamental front, Russia produced over 1 million tonnes of sugar in a single month for the first time ever in October as a higher beet crop and investment in the country's refineries pushed output nearer forecasts of an all-time high.
Russia, the world's largest raw sugar importer, is forecast to produce more than 3 million tonnes of sugar from its own beet this season, enough to meet more than half of its demand. NYBOT final No 11 raw sugar futures volume was estimated at only 29,403 lots, down from the 44,877 lots recorded on Monday.
Call volume reached 9,584 lots and puts amounted to 3,258 lots. As of November 6, open interest in the No 11 raw sugar market grew 4,447 to 487,660 lots. The ethanol market was untraded. US domestic sugar prices closed down. The January contract lost 0.09 cent to 19.65 cents per lb while March fell 0.08 to 19.70 cents. Back months ended 0.02 to 0.14 cents lower. Final volume was estimated at 766 lots.
Comments
Comments are closed.