Raw Sugar Update
There was some light opening selling which kicked March’26 back to 14.92, however that proved to be a blip and the market soon turned upward to look above 15.00 once more. A high of 15.10 was attained within the first hour and the gain then comfortably maintained through the rest of the morning to put the market back on a more positive footing again. Those of a bullish persuasion (and those wishing to see better prices in order to hedge) would have been hoping that this platform may provide opportunity to push back towards Fridays 15.29 mark, however the early afternoon saw 15.10 remain stubborn with the resistance maintained. This led values to slip down the band as smaller traders removed some risk, returning values to the 15.00 area as traders reassessed the situation. Though the market continued its efforts to hold there was increased uncertainty creeping back in the longer the afternoon played out which led to the lower end of the days range being explored on a couple of occasions. These proved unsuccessful and 14.92 held, until hopes of a positive close were dashed in spectacular style on the call. Aggressive selling (more than 6,000 lots) changed hands as March’26 was slammed down to 14.86 on the call, and though a closing value of 14.93 is not catastrophic it does emphasise again the challenge this market continues to face in mounting any sustained recovery.
White Sugar Update
March’26 opened above $430.00 and continued to make modest gains across early trading, reaching a high of $432.40. Volumes were moderate at best and trading quietened as the morning progressed with prices holding a narrow band, though the fact that the price movement was positive did provide encouragement that last week’s rally might be renewed. This was not to be the case however with the rest of the morning failing to see any further upside progress achieved, and when the arrival of Americas based participants similarly failed to end the stalemate, we saw some position liquidation send values down to fill the intra-day chart gap which had developed overnight. The decline widened the range to $427.00, and though a pause followed we remained vulnerable to additional losses which duly manifested later in the afternoon. March/March’26 continued its see-saw within the upper $90’s as its value fell by a couple of dollars to $97, like the March’26 spreads seeing yesterdays gains erode again as they become tied to the outright movement. Lows were recorded at $425.40 on the call, leaving the market settling at $426.20 and still facing a relative feast of overhead resistance.
