Daily Market Price Updates and Commentary 19th May 2025

Raw Sugar Update

The week commenced with nearby positions trading marginally higher, but before long the situation took a turn, and the market began to drift lower with Jul’25 printing a single point below Friday’s lowest level at 17.41 before looking to stabilize. The latest COT report showed some reduction in the net short holding to -45,616 lots, befitting the rally which took place across the reporting period with expectation that the decline during recent days has returned some shorts with the live position anticipated to show some additional spec selling. There was no sign of any more spec selling during the early afternoon as the US morning brought some small trader position covering and a rapid push back to 17.69 on modest buying before calming to consolidate some of the gain. Jul’25 remained positive for most of the afternoon although outright volume remained low, the current picture still discouraging many traders from participation pending some clearer trading signals. Jul/Oct’25 was trading lower again despite the marginally higher outright values and slipped to -0.20 points, a factor which eventually pushed the spot marginally back into the red during the final hour. Additional selling then appeared for the close to send Jul’25 out at 17.45, maintaining the negative sentiment for another day at least.   

White Sugar Update

Morning trading was thin and choppy as traders looked in both directions without gaining a great deal of traction, with Aug’25 ranging between $492.40 / $488.60 and finding some consumer scale interest below to provide an element of support. Little happened until the early afternoon when a burst of a few hundred lots of buying proved sufficient to take Aug’25 up to new highs at $494.80, though such is the thin and fickle nature of the current environment that we slipped back into the range as soon as the buying concluded. From that point onward the flat price simply drifted back towards overnight levels, reverting to type from recent sessions and illustrating the current lack of confidence around the market. Spreads and white premiums were also quiet with Aug/Oct’24 moving a little before ending the day unchanged at $3.30, while Aug/Julk’25 drifted to end the day valued at $104.80. Despite maintaining a modest gain until the closing stages the appearance of MOC selling sent Aug’25 into negative ground and registered a marginally lower settlement price at $489.50, leaving parameters unchanged as we head towards Tuesday.