Raw sugar futures were virtually unchanged in trade on Friday and the market may drift all the way into the end of this week's business, brokers said.
The actively traded IntercontinentalExchange's NYBOT electronic market for sugar showed the October contract flat at 10.25 cents per lb. at 9:20 am EDT (1320 GMT), moving from 10.21 to 10.32 cents.
The New York Board of Trade's open-outcry October contract gained 0.01 to 10.26 cents at 9:20 am, in a tighter band from 10.24 to 10.32 cents. "It's all locals and like the last few days, the only time we'll see some action is during the last hour of trade," a floor dealer said.
Fundamentally, the market is looking at a massive surplus in sugar although brokers said a possible shift to nearby buying by top importer Russia might support sentiment in the market. Technicians said near-term resistance in the October contracts would be at 10.50/53 and 10.56 cents. Support was at 10 and 9.80 cents.
Open-outcry volume in sugar on Friday at 9:00 am was at 563 lots. Open-outcry volume on Thursday stood at 10,710 lots and screen trade reached 91,842 lots.