Raw sugar futures were firmer early on Thursday as modest investment fund buying gave the market a boost, brokers said. "It's mostly funds, but you don't know if it would break down again at the top of the range," a floor dealer said.
ICE Futures electronic March sugar contract rose 0.09 cent to 9.83 cents per lb at 9:30 am EDT (1330 GMT), trading from 9.72 to 9.84 cents. The open-outcry March sugar contract added 0.08 to 9.82 cents at 9:31 am, dealing from 9.73 to 9.84 cents. The market mulled the impact of a drought in Brazil and how it may affect production of the centre-south cane crop next season. Open-outcry volume Thursday hit 678 lots.