Raw sugar futures closed with modest losses on Friday in a session featuring rollovers and muted pit volumes due to pre-holiday illiquidity, traders said. "The October-March just got offered down March/Mays are getting offered down. Other than that, that's been the only play and that has only been in the last 20 minutes," one floor dealer said just before the close.
The sugar market will be closed on Monday for the US Labour Day holiday. Trading will resume on Tuesday. The New York Board of Trade's October sugar contract ended down 0.06 cent to 9.48 cents per lb, after dealing between 9.42 and 9.55 cents. March settled off 0.02 to 9.78 cents. The rest of the board closed mixed from down 0.02 to up 0.01.
On Monday, the New York Board of Trade will begin using the name ICE Futures US, the Intercontinental Exchange said. The Intercontinental Exchange NYBOT electronic market for sugar showed the October contract down 0.06 cent to 9.48 cents at 1:47 pm EDT (1747 GMT).
Fundamentally, the sweetener has been under recent pressure from massive world supplies and would likely not be able to sustain a rally beyond 10.50 cents a lb due to the huge global supply glut, analyst ED&F Man said at the Asia International Sugar Conference this week. Sentiment took a further hit after news India, the world's top consumer of the sweetener, would look to become major raw sugar exporter. Indian exports have surged to over 1.5 million tonnes this year after a ban on exports was lifted in January. Exports are expected to head toward 3 million tonnes or more in 2007/08.
Meanwhile, India's top sugar industry executive said exporters would not sell at rock-bottom prices, adding that levels near 10 cents per lb seemed viable. Near-term support in the October sugar contract continued to be seen at 9.20/25 and then 9.00 cents. Technicians pegged resistance at 9.80 and then 10 cents.
Estimated final open-outcry volume totalled 10,586 lots, compared with Thursday's official count of 11,782 lots. Call volume on Friday hit 8,471 lots and 4,031 puts traded. Electronic volume on Thursday stood at 41,849 lots and total volume was 53,631 lots. Open interest in the No 11 world raw sugar market rose 4,702 lots to 661,106 contracts as of August 30. No deals were done in the ethanol market.
The US domestic electronic No 14 sugar market was mixed by 1:42 pm, with the November contract down 0.18 cent to 22.05 cents. Screen volume on Thursday in the No 14 domestic sugar market amounted to only 4 lots, with 68 lots traded in the pit.