Raw sugar prices closed at their lowest this year after speculative sell-off, market sources said. New York Board of Trade's October raw sugar contract settled down 0.28 cent at 13.99 cents per lb after bottoming at 13.92 cents.
It was the benchmark contract's lowest close on a spot basis since 14.18 cents on January 3. March sank 0.32 to 14.50 cents, and the back-month contracts fell 0.22 to 0.30 cent.
Technicians pegged support at 13.85 and 13.65 cents for October delivery, with resistance at 14.06 and 14.40 cents. The market was already on the defensive after a key resistance level held strong last week.
NYBOT final estimated volume reached 58,168 lots from Monday's count of 35,976 contracts. Call volume hit 20.952 lots and puts touched 13,673 lots. Open interest rose 1,016 lots to 470,344 lots as of August 7. The ethanol market was untraded.