Raw sugar futures finished higher Wednesday on follow-through fund buying and brokers said the market's rosy fundamentals may keep the market supported in the days ahead. The October sugar contract rose 0.24 cent to end at 13.85 cents per lb, near the top of its 13.60 to 13.89 trading band.
March gained 0.37 cent to 15.20 cents, trading from 14.81 to 15.22 cents. Volume traded in the October contract was at 33,171 lots at 2:01 pm EDT (1801 GMT). "It's done extremely well," James Cordier, founder of optionsellers.com and analyst for Liberty Trading Group, said of the sugar market.
He said sugar bucked the rise of the dollar to charge up and the market seems poised to grind up and above the 14 cents area, basis October, in the coming sessions. On a fundamental level, sugar seems poised to move higher given market belief that yields in Brazil are seen slipping from poor weather and a fall in production in number 2 producer India which may lead to sugar imports there.
Most analysts also feel that sugar consumption will continue its steady rise in the years ahead, they said. The question most market sources are mulling is whether the US, which approved emergency imports of 300,000 short tons, may be in the market again in the months ahead because the domestic sugar supply situation remained tight.
Total deals done Tuesday reached 52,115 lots - exchange data. Open interest in the No 11 raw sugar market dropped 4,752 lots to 793,410 contracts as of August 12, the exchange said. The domestic No 14 sugar market showed the November contract up 0.05 cent at 23.35 cents at 2:01 pm. Volume in the November contract stood at 47 lots. Volume traded Tuesday in the entire No 14 sugar market was at 196 lots, exchange data showed.