London white sugar futures closed slightly higher on speculative short covering and trade buying after a choppy session, dealers said. Operators said they were divided over the outlook for the market as it consolidated in a narrow range.
December settled flat at $236.9 a tonne in volume of 1,243 lots, having moved in a $235.3-238 range.
Further out contracts settled a touch stronger, leaving March up 50 cents at $248.5 in volume of 794 lots.
"This is a period of consolidation. It looks like there is some offtake-related buying and spec short covering," one operator said.
Another said, "We are stepping into a period of offtake after the recent fall in futures. Middle Eastern and African buyers are running short after winding down stocks before Ramazan."
Traders talked of Iraqi enquiries for white sugar, but there was no immediate official confirmation of an Iraqi tender invitation.
Traders were divided over the outlook for raw sugar futures.
"Are we at the lower end of a trading range, or are we seeing something more significant, as Sucden are saying?" one London-based operator said.
Paris-based Sucden said in a technical analysis on Tuesday that raw sugar futures are showing signs of a bear correction of an upswing that began earlier this year.
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