NYBOT raw sugar futures ended largely flat Friday in quiet business featuring modest trade buying, with analysts saying the sweetener appears to be stabilising around its current levels for now.
October sugar rose 0.04 cent to finish at the day's high of 7.73 cents a lb. The session low was at 7.63 cents. It was an inside day as the range was within Thursday's band of 7.60 cents to 7.76 cents. March was flat at 8.26 cents. Except for two contracts, the rest closed flat as well.
"We still have spec long liquidation and the commercials are still buying here," said James Cordier of Liberty Trading Group. He said sugar should stabilise in the coming days as the bulk of the fund liquidation appears to be tapering off. Raw sugar prices recently surged to a 17-month high on bullish fundamentals tied to forecasts of a supply deficit in 2004/05, the first such shortfall in five years.
Technicians put resistance in the October contract in the area of 7.79/80 cents and then the region of 7.84/87 cents. They pegged support at 7.55 cents and 7.50 cents. Final estimated volume hit 18,984 lots, down from Thursday's tally of 30,272 lots. Call volume reached 3,700 lots and puts stood at 1,668 lots. Open interest fell 3,583 lots to 292,971 lots as of August 19.