Raw sugar futures climbed to a yearly high early on Tuesday as an active options market pushed prices higher, extending a rally that began in early December, brokers said. ICE Futures electronic March sugar was up 0.20 cent at 11.57 cents per lb at 9:23 am EST (1423 GMT), moving between 11.32 and 11.63 cents.
Based on the spot continuation chart, the 11.63 session peak is the highest level the contract has seen since January 3, 2007. Volume traded in the electronic March contract was at 25,009 lots at 9:28 am. Open-outcry volume at 9:00 am was at 843 lots.
On the fundamental front, India, the world's second-biggest sugar producer, has exported 354,000 tonnes of the sweetener in the first three months of the season that began in October, a government source said Tuesday. Total open-outcry volume in the sugar market on Monday hit 12,329 lots, while screen trade reached 102,683 lots, according to exchange data.