Raw sugar futures climbed on speculative fund buying in early dealings on Tuesday and brokers said the sweetener could breach the psychological level of 13 cents in the days ahead. ICE Futures electronic March sugar gained 0.26 cent to 12.50 cents per lb at 9:18 am EST (1418 GMT), trading 12.33 to 12.73 cents.
The spot March open-outcry contract had open interest of 445,449 contracts as of January 25, down from the previous session by 8,847 lots. The contract expires on February 29.
Trading volume Tuesday in the electronic March sugar contract was at 21,563 lots at 9:20 am Total open-outcry volume for the sugar market was at 2,614 lots at 9:00 am Open-outcry volume in the sugar market Monday hit 9,321 lots and screen trade totalled 101,717 lots, according to exchange data.