New York sugar closes at 19-month low

Raw sugar futures buckled from speculative and switch-related pressure to end on Monday at a fresh 19-month trough, with follow-through pressure and bearish fundamentals seen depressing the market further, brokers said.
New York Board of Trade's May raw sugar contract closed down 0.18 cent or 1.8 percent at 9.70 cents per lb after trading 9.68 to 9.85 cents. On the spot daily charts, it was the lowest close for sugar since August 2005. July lost 0.13 to 9.87 cents. One contracts aside, the rest shed 0.09 to 0.12 cent.
On the Intercontinental Exchange's NYBOT electronic platform, may drop 0.18 cent to 9.70 cents by 1:17 pm EDT (1517 GMT). Mike McDougall, senior vice-president of brokerage FIMAT USA Inc, said the selling stemming from spread-related deals on the difference between the spot and back months is "not giving any chance for the market to recover."
Open interest in the May contract plunged 9,952 to 241,617 lots as of March 30 while interest in July gained 6,899 to 191,310 lots. The May contract expires on April 30. Fundamentally, the market is struggling against the weight of expectations of bumper cane crops in leading producer Brazil and India, the world's largest consumer of the sweetener.
Sugar lost ground from the onset of trade and then was hit by late sales to send the market to its lowest level since 2005, which was just before the start of a rally that catapulted values to a 25-year peak in February 2006.
Technicians feel support for the May contract in the open-outcry pit at 9.50 and 9.00 cents, while resistance was at 10 and 10.50 cents. Open interest in the No 11 raw sugar market fell 3,219 lots to 658,288 contracts as of March 30.
Open-outcry volume traded around noon stood at 15,519 lots, from the prior open-outcry count of 32,326 lots. Call volume was 4,967 lots and puts at 5,831 lots.
NYBOT said on Friday's electronic trade were 47,812 lots and total volume 80,138 lots. Ethanol futures were untraded. US domestic sugar prices ended mixed.
The May contract rose 0.18 to 21.10 cents per lb and July shed 0.09 to 20.83 cents. The rest ranged from 0.03 cent firmer to 0.11 cent easier. The electronic No 14 sugar market saw its May contract retreat 0.19 to 21.11 cents at 1:28 pm.