Daily Market Price Updates and Commentary 21st January 2026

Raw Sugar Update 

After some early selling which briefly knocked March’26 back to 14.66 it was a quietly stable showing from the top of the board with prices moving back up to the 14.80 area. Volume continued to be low, and the continuation of trading within the same familiar parameters has become a ‘catch 22’, with nobody having the desire to force the market away from the band, while the extension of sideways trading discourages ever more interest. Trading continued quietly until the early afternoon when some spec impetus from the US sent the price ahead to 14.90, though at this stage progress halted with the start of the selling evidently now falling below 15.00. The market banged its head against 14.90 several times across the next couple of hours before eventually sliding back down into the range when smaller traders exited longs and squared positions away. Prices looked to claw on to small gains and spent a period holding in the upper 14.70’s, and while there was a return to unchanged levels ahead of the close some MOC buying ensured a token gain was recorded with settlement at 14.74. 

White Sugar Update

Opening prints down to $419.80 were brief and the market soon reversed the losses to be showing little change within the first hour. This seemed to encourage some light buying interest back to the spot month and it was able to pull the price higher by a couple of dollars across the morning, albeit in a calm way which was not inspiring any fresh interest. There was some additional buying strength seen though we had to wait until the afternoon for it to manifest, however it followed a familiar pattern with smaller traders unsuccessfully pushing against pricing orders as the underprices growers chip away with their requirement and limited the high to $425.80. Alongside the March/May’26 spread continues to see some rolling, though with the March’26 open interest still standing at 76,656 lots this will pick up further over the next couple of weeks to bring the number down ahead of expiry on 13th February. The last 3 hours saw the market falling back down through the range with few buyers in place as day traders liquidated, returning the price to the lower $420’s with nearby positions all at a small deficit. This leaves parameters unmoved for yet another day, with March’26 settling at $421.10, March/May’26 at $0.50, and March/March’26 white premium valued at $96.10.