Brazilian white sugar premiums have risen amid tight supply on the local market and strong demand from the Middle East, which has prompted mills to sell product during price peaks, traders said. Raws premiums have eased slightly as Russian buying winds down and mills continue selling against prices tracking the surge in futures for white sugar, which is near a seven-year front-month continuation high.
"Looks like there is a squeeze on," a white sugar trader at a medium sized firm in Rio de Janeiro said. "Cargill took delivery on a large volume of raws last week and there are signs they may do the same with whites now."
Other traders reported selling by Brazilian mills as Middle East demand for white sugar stepped up. They also said local demand for white sugar and ethanol is firm.
Brazil's center-south cane harvest is forging ahead. Mills crushed 85.1 million tonnes of cane by June 15, about 25 percent of the record center-south crop forecast at 345 million tonnes, Sao Paulo's Cane Agroindustry Union (Unica) said.
The center-south cane belt got light scattered rains on Tuesday and Wednesday but will be dry and cool for the next several days.
Benchmark 150 ICUMSA whites peaked at 37.90 reais a bag in early April. A 50-kg bag of crystals was quoted ex-mill at 28.50 reais on Thursday in Ribeirao Preto, up from the 27.22 reais last week.