London white sugar futures settled slightly lower in modest volumes on Wednesday on profit-taking as the market consolidated after recent gains, with attention focused on a Thai raw sugar tender, traders said.
Front-month October closed down $1.40 at $243.3 in volume of 1,434 lots, having moved in a range between $244.8 and $242.1.
December finished down $2.2 at $247.8 in volume of 731 lots.
"London started lower after New York closed near its session lows. There has been some trade profit-taking, but volumes are low," one London trader said.
Traders were nervous over the possibility of a sell-off by funds that had built up big long positions.
Buyers paid high premiums to Thai sellers in Wednesday's raw sugar tender for 2005 export, which enabled farmers to benefit from recent gains in futures markets, physical traders said.
The Thai Cane and Sugar Corporation (TCSC) said it sold 192,000 tonnes of Quota B sugar to four international trading firms at auction.
European traders said a number of trading houses had offered attractive prices for the sugar in aggressive bidding that spilled into a second round.