Raw sugar futures rallied anew early Tuesday on options-related and investment fund buying as the market again surged to a fresh 18-month high following a holiday weekend, brokers said. The raw sugar market was shut Monday for a holiday.
ICE Futures electronic March sugar contract jumped 0.35 cent to trade at 13.61 cents per lb at 9:32 am EST (1432 GMT), moving between 13.30 and a new lifetime high of 13.75 cents. Open interest in the March contract stood at 135,326 lots as of February 14, down 24,251 lots from the previous session.
Trading volume Tuesday in the electronic March sugar contract was 6,771 lots at 9:34 am. Total open-outcry volume in the contract at 9:34 am was at 2,786 lots. Open-outcry volume on Friday was 14,608 lots, while screen trade was 168,651 lots, the exchange said.