NYBOT raw sugar futures finished mostly easier Thursday on fund and speculative sales, and the sweetener is seen drifting in a band ahead of an industry dinner tomorrow, brokers said.
March sugar eased 0.05 cent to close at 8.90 cents a lb, ranging from 8.86 to 9.07 cents. May eased 0.02 to 8.97 cents. The rest ranged from 0.01 cent weaker to 0.03 cent firmer.
"The funds and the locals were trying to get it past the (contract) high of 9.10 (cents, basis March), but the origins capped it there. All the locals then dumped it at the end," a long-time floor dealer said.
Sugar had galloped to its highest level in three years as expectations of a supply deficit in 2004/05 and stepped-up demand from large sugar consumers like India and Russia served to underpin values, the brokers said.