Raw sugar futures settled at a fresh four-month low Thursday as weak equities, a rising dollar and worries over global recession deflated values, brokers said. The March raws sugar contract fell 0.12 cent to finish at 10.84 cents per lb. Moving from 10.73 to 11.15 cents. It was the lowest close for sugar on a spot basis since the middle of June when it traded near 10.80 cents.
May sugar lost 0.12 cent as well to 11.18 cents. Volume traded in the March contract hit 40,373 lots at 1:58 pm EDT (1758 GMT). "People continue to bail out of commodities," said James Cordier, founder of optionsellers.com and analyst for Liberty Trading Group. Potential importers of sugar are content to wait out further prices falls, he said.
"Every week you wait, you could buy (sugar) at a cheaper price," added Cordier. Czarnikow reduced its forecast of 2008/09 sugarcane production in Brazil's main center-south region to 475 million tonnes, from a previous prediction of 485 million tonnes, due to wet weather in August. Tunisia bought 14,000 tonnes of white sugar for February arrival, the government said.
Market closely watching if US will buy sugar. US supply situation tight, but American producers said there is more than enough sugar for the market. Technicians feel support in the March contract at 10.85 cents, with resistance at 11.50 and 12 cents. Volume Wednesday in the No 11 sugar market at 60,367 lots - exchange data. The domestic No 14 sugar market showed the March contract untraded at 1:59 pm volume traded Wednesday in the No 14 market was at 305 lots, the exchange said.