Raw sugar futures settled with small losses Tuesday due to sales by small speculators and the market appears pinned in a band for the moment although market fundamentals are decidedly bearish, brokers said.
The New York Board of Trade's March raw sugar contract finished steady at 11.67 cents per lb, trading from 11.60 to 11.75 cents. May eased 0.03 to 11.78 cents. The rest lost from 0.02 to 0.05 cent.
James Cordier of Liberty Trading Group said producer sales appear to be sitting just over the market near 12 cents, basis March, but that speculative accounts would buy on the dips. Sugar values have been labouring under the weight of a glut in 2006/07 while consumer demand has been routine and not exactly brisk either, analysts said.
Technicians feel support for the March contract would be at 11.50 and then in layers down to 11 cents. They forecast resistance at 12 and then 12.30 cents. Volume before the close reached 23,415 lots, from the prior count of 38,287 lots. Call volume amounted to 13,730 lots and puts reached 6,567 lots. Open interest in the No 11 raw sugar market fell 1,753 to 500,431 lots as of November 13. No deals were done in the ethanol market.