There was a mixture of activity across the first 30 minutes of the session but once this had passed the market resumed its upward trajectory of yesterday with a push to 18.94 for Oct’24. The situation then calmed and a retreat against long liquidation saw the market consolidating overnight levels through late morning on lower volumes. Ahead of the US morning there was a fresh upward push from the smaller traders which sent prices quickly up to new daily highs against limit resistance, and then on to print above 19.00 where a little more (though still moderate) pricing was in place. There was a small retreat from the highs ahead of the publication of the latest UNICA data for the second half of Aug’24 which arrived showing Cane at 45.067 mmt / Sugar 3.258 mmt / Mix 48.85% / ATR 155.34 kg/t / Ethanol 2.452 mlt, and for a short period the market did not react to this data with the market continuing just beneath 19.00. When the reaction did arrive, it was positive with the year-on-year comparisons and lower mix drawing support despite the cane and sugar numbers being largely in line with expectations, and though additional scale selling then limited further movement a high at 19.24 was achieved for Oct’24. The final part of the day saw the usual array of liquidation / position squaring though Oct’24 remained positive to close at 19.07. Oct’24/March’25 again made up the bulk of todays volume with around 70% of the total for the front two prompts coming via the spread, with the differential finishing marginally lower at -0.35 points.
It was a more volatile environment for the whites market this morning as buying took Dec’24 upward to $523.50 during the initial stages, though by the middle of the morning it was trading back at a deficit with participants continuing to be fickle. The lower levels continued for the rest of the morning with lows registered at $516.50, with this period also seeing losses for the white premiums as March/March’25 slipped back beneath $91.00. Almost from nowhere the market sprung upward again as we passed noon, this rally triggering some sharp movement through the earlier highs and sending the price through to $526.20. It was not just the flat price rallying with the Oct’24 spreads also showing firmly on their penultimate session with Oct/Dec’24 pushed out to $13.90 in the thinning liquidity which belies a still large open interest figure of 17,271 lots. The flat price remained firm through the afternoon and saw session highs at $528.80 during the final hour, placing the wider picture into a more positive perspective which may see the upper end of the current range investigated again. Though there was some end of day position squaring the market closed positively at $527.10 for Dec’24, while Oct/Dec’24 heads into the final day of trading valued at $13.00.
