Indian sugar futures rose on Wednesday on short-covering after the markets had fallen up to 8.6 percent since on Thursday's close, but large deliveries capped gains in the near-month contract. Good summer demand in physical markets and expectations of robust exports in March and April supported futures.
At 3:23 pm (0953 GMT) the March contract on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange was up 0.42 percent to 1,429 rupees ($35.3) per 100 kg. The April contract had risen a larger 1.26 percent to 1,525 rupees. Bulk consumption by ice cream and cold beverage makers rises during summer months. Deliveries at exchange warehouses rose to over 30,000 tonnes and may touch 33,000 tonnes on Thursday, traders said, and that weighed on the near-month contract, which expires on Thursday.
In February, just 6,670 tonnes of sugar were delivered to warehouses. "Indian exports have been good in the last few weeks and should remain healthy in April as well," a sugar trader and exporter in Mumbai said.