London sugar futures eased back on profit taking on Wednesday, correcting a recent upswing underpinned by concerns over rain delaying the harvest in the centre and south of Brazil, and improving prospects for cane-derived ethanol, traders said.
Traders also noted arbitrage between the London August and New York July contracts, and spread trading between the London August and October contracts at a premium of around $5.
"Probably some sell stops were hit in New York, triggering profit taking," one trader said, noting that sugar had traded higher for much of the session.
Front month August closed down $4.9 at $216.6 a tonne on volume of 2,990 lots, having moved between $224.0 and $216.2.
October settled down $4.2 at $221.8 on volume of 1,152 lots.
Traders put strong resistance at $225 a tonne.
In fundamentals, EU governments will get their last chance next week to voice.