Raw sugar prices settled Tuesday at the highest level in seven years due to a steady barrage of fund buying and the market could crawl higher on follow-through interest in the days ahead, brokers said.
The New York Board of Trade's key March raw sugar contract rose 0.23 cent or by 2.0 percent to end at 11.69 cents a lb, trading from 11.48 to 11.70 cents. It was the highest close for juice since trading near 12 cents in early 1998.
May shot up 0.26 cent to 11.63 cents. The rest increased from 0.22 to 0.26 cent. Futures have mounted a sustained rally due to concern cane in top grower Brazil and other sugar-producing countries will increasingly be diverted into the production of the bio-fuel ethanol given high crude prices.