Raw sugar futures edged up to a steady finish on Friday in choppy business, with investors playing both sides of a market as they looked for leads on the next move, brokers said. The key March raw sugar contract gained 0.17 cent to finish at 12.02 cents per lb.
At the end of September, the spot month finished at 13.66 cents. On the month, the contract has lost 12.00 percent in value. The contract traded from 11.67 to 12.06 cents. May sugar rose 0.18 cent to end at 12.29 cents. Volume traded in the March contract hit 32,107 lots at 2:00 pm EDT (1800 GMT). "We're still trading the macro picture - the dollar, crude oil," a dealer for a US financial house said. "Today, it's been a mixed bag."
Sugar declined at the start to hit its session low, recovered on investor buying and then failed to find any momentum over 12 cents, basis March. "It was just treading water," a dealer for a mid-sized trading house said. The dealer said the market's finish may set up the March contract for another probe next week of the 12 to 12.20 cents area. Analysts said investment funds have also liquidated a sizeable chunk of their positions in sugar.
At the start of October, open interest in the No 11 sugar market stood at 705,350 lots. Open interest as of October 30 was at 642,610 lots, up 236 lots on the day. The market is monitoring the US to see if it will buy sugar because of tight supplies, analysts said. Sugar production was hit by hurricanes in Louisiana and Texas, but American sugar producers said supplies are ample.
Technicians put support in the March contract at 11.80 and 11.50 cents, with resistance at 12.25 and 12.50 cents. Volume Thursday in the No 11 sugar market at 65,492 lots - exchange data. The domestic No 14 sugar market showed the January contract down 0.52 cent at 20.00 cents at 2:00 pm volume traded Thursday in the No 14 market was at 374 lots, the exchange said.
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