Insight Focus
The May 2026 raw sugar futures contract expired last week. Speculators have added heavily to their long positions.
New York No.11 Raw Sugar Futures
The May 2026 raw sugar futures contract expired last week at 14.6c/lb.
On the commercial side, end-users have closed out 37k lots of longs while producers reduced their position by 16.3k lots of shorts.
No.11 Commitment of Traders Report (April 21, 2026)
Speculators have added to their long positions by 34.6k lots and have further extended their short position by 6.9k lots.
The net-speculative position now stands at –128,503 lots.
No.11 & No.5 Open interest
The No.11 forward futures curve and the No.5 forward futures curve have both strengthened across all contracts.
White Premium (Arbitrage)
The Q/N white premium traded at USD 119.2/tonne on Monday and settled at USD 116.9/tonne on Friday.
Grains Update
Corn and wheat markets are mixed today, with corn trading at 475 c/bu, up 0.3%, while wheat is down 0.8% at 636¢/bu. European corn prices hit a two year high on Tuesday, supported by weather concerns and rising farm input costs following the closure of the strait of Hormuz, which could constrain supply outside the US; Paris futures climbed as much as 1.2% to their highest level since June 2024. France is expected to reduce corn sowing, and while Chicago corn briefly extended Monday’s 1.2% gain to its highest intraday level since April 2025, prices later eased.
Ongoing Middle East tensions continue to lend support to grain markets through higher energy prices, given the link between crude oil and renewable fuels demand. Adding to this, ADM raised its annual earnings outlook after stronger US biofuel blending requirements announced in March are expected to boost corn and soybean demand. However, with fund traders holding a record long position in grains ahead of next week’s USDA WASDE report, further upside may be limited despite otherwise supportive fundamentals.
For a more detailed view of the sugar futures and market data, please refer to the appendix below.
No.11 (Raw Sugar) Appendix
No.5 (White Sugar) Appendix
White Premium Appendix
