Insight Focus
Raw sugar futures continue to trade sideways, but market activity remains firm. End-users have added to their positions for the second consecutive week, while producers are also pricing. Speculators’ net-short position continues to grow, now standing at -132k lots.
New York No.11 Raw Sugar Futures
Raw sugar futures continue to trade sideways, currently near 16.3c/lb. Despite this lack of direction, market activity remains firm.
Prices reached a high of 16.5c/lb last Tuesday, likely driven by end-users increasing their cover and adding around 7.8k lots of longs. However, this price strength was probably met by producer selling, as producers opened 6.9k lots of shorts over the past week.
No.11 Commitment of Traders Report (August 26, 2025)
Speculators were active on both sides, adding 1.8k longs and 3.2k shorts, bringing their net short position down to -132,499 lots.
No.11 Open interest
Over the past week, the No.11 forward curve has held steady, with Oct’25 at 16.37c/lb. Prices from Mar’26 through May’28 remain largely unchanged from last week.
London No.5 Refined Sugar Futures
The No.5 refined sugar futures have strengthened over the past week, opening at USD 481/tonne at the start of the week and closing at USD 503/tonne last Friday.
No.5 Open Interest
Looking at the No.5 forward curve, the front-month Oct’25 contract remains well above the nearby contracts, reflecting near-term backwardation.
White Premium (Arbitrage)
The V/V white premium has strengthened and is now trading around USD 131/tonne, up from USD 118/tonne the previous week.
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
