Raw sugar futures edged lower early on Wednesday as prices stabilised from the prior day's volatility and traders concentrated on rolling out of the spot March contract, brokers said. "At the moment, the funds are starting to roll," said one floor dealer.
ICE Futures electronic March sugar contract was off 0.01 cent at 11.36 cents per lb at 9:25 am EST (1425 GMT), dealing between 11.34 and 11.47 cents. The March open-outcry contract on Tuesday surged to 11.78 cents per lb, the highest level for a front-month contract since December 29, 2006. Meanwhile, influential sugar consultant Jonathan Kingsman on Wednesday forecast the global sugar supply/demand balance would be "close to flat" in 2008/09 after a substantial 11-million-tonne surplus in 2007/08.