20000323

CSCE sugar bounces from lows to finish tad up

NEW YORK: CSCE raw sugar futures settled Tuesday with slight gains as raws came back on local and commission-house interest to wipe out early losses from sales by small speculators in another moribund session.

"The market absolutely died at the end," said Patrick Funaro, vice-president of the Latin American desk at FIMAT Futures. "It was kind of quiet."

May sugar closed up 0.07 cent at 5.20 cents a lb, near the top of its 5.22-5.06 range. July gained 0.08 to 5.28 cents and October increased 0.03 to 5.69 cents. Back months firmed 0.02 cent.

Sales by small speculators on the hunt for stops in the May contract near the 5.00-cent mark dragged futures down at the start, floor sources and physical brokers said.

There was also some early trade and speculative pressure, but that swiftly fizzled out because there was not enough ammunition to push through on the downside, they said.

"They all got too short and the locals led us right back up. It was very dreary and I'm just sick of it," a dealer said.

Light producer and trade selling near the close pared the market's advance, brokers said.

Physical business was routine and uninspiring, with only the usual cargo of Cuban sugar said to be headed for the Black Sea.

On a technical basis, dealers said short-term resistance in May sugar was at the 40-day moving average at 5.33, the 50-day moving average at 5.41 and then 5.50 cents. They said support should be at the double bottom of 5.03, then 5.00, 4.90, the contract low of 4.84 and then 4.50 cents.

Funaro feels May will hover between 5.00-5.50 cents over the near term.

Estimated final volume reached 19,310 lots against the Monday's estimated volume of 17,509 contracts.

Call volume stood at an estimated 1,706 lots while puts reached around 889 lots.

In other news, Australian sugar industry export sources said Tuesday they expect Beijing will import raws in the second half of 2000 after crop frost damage affected the Chinese cane crop.

Australia is also pitching to regain its foothold in the Singapore market, which it lost to cheaper Brazilian sugar in 1998/99.

The CSCE is a subsidiary of the New York Board of Trade.ÑReuters