New York sugar finishes firm

Raw sugar futures ended sharply higher on Thursday on investment fund buying and the firm close may enable the market to edge higher before the weekend, brokers said. The New York Board of Trade's May raw sugar contract rose 0.41 cent or by 3.8 percent to settle at 10.97 cents per lb nears the top of its 10.64 to 10.98 cents band.
July added 0.34 to 10.81 cents. The rest gained 0.29 to 0.34 cent. In the IntercontinentalExchange's NYBOT electronic market for sugar, its May contract surged 0.44 cent to trade at 11 cents at 12:56 pm EST (1756 GMT), moving from 10.52 to a contract high of 11.01 cents.
"It's been real steady and got a good, late pop on fund (buying). May try 11 (cents), but there's pretty solid resistance up there," a floor dealer said. Analysts said the expiration of the March contract was smooth and the amount delivered should wind up in customers' hands over the next few weeks. The New York Board of Trade said deliveries against the tape in the March contract stood at 6,747 lots. The origins of the sugar were Brazil, Thailand, and the Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala.
Sugar contracts moved higher from the bell and the surge accelerated going into the last quarter hour of business, dealers said. "I think we hit (automatic buy order) stops above 10.85 (cents, basis May)," one said. Fundamentally, the market is already looking toward the start of the center-south cane harvest in top grower Brazil.
Technicians feel resistance for the May contract in the open-outcry pit at 11 and 11.20 cents, while support was at 10.85 and 10.50 cents. Open interest in the No 11 raw sugar market sank 15,060 lots to 653,254 contracts as of February 28. Total volume traded in open outcry and electronic trading around noon stood at 31,496 lots, from the prior total count of 32,274 lots.
Call volume hit 16,694 lots and puts hit 5,041 lots. On Wednesday, electronic volume was at 65,156 lots, NYBOT said. Electronic trading ends at 3:15 pm Ethanol futures were untraded. US domestic sugar prices ended mixed. The May contract fell 0.10 cent to 20.90 cents per lb and July shed 0.07 to 20.99 cents. Back months were flat to 0.02 cent firmer. The electronic No 14 sugar market saw its May contract trade 0.15 cent down at 20.85 cents at 12:57 pm.