Having fallen back down through the range to 2-week lows yesterday afternoon there was a little physical activity taking place and the resultant hedge lifting enable the price to move upward during the early stages with March’24 reaching 27.37. There was little other buying interest though and once the cover had been taken the price retreated down towards overnight levels to await the next move. With underlying consumer buying still in place on a scale basis there remained a modicum of encouragement for the day traders, and this drew some light buying through the morning which enabled the price to push back to the lower 27.30’s where it sat ahead of the Americas joining the fray. As with yesterday the arrival for US specs saw instant selling hit the market, which quickly place the market under pressure by sending prices to new recent lows. March’24 worked down through the scale buying to a low at 27.02, before the nature of the smaller spec activities was highlighted through a short covering spike to 27.27. Trading then settled back down within the lower end of the range, but while the specs continued to flit around there was no sign that the trade were interested in becoming active. The day drew to a calm conclusion with March’24 settling marginally lower at 27.15, with 27c representing psychological support which if broken may lead to additional spec liquidation. 
A volatile opening period saw March’24 fall back from initial trades at $737.50 to $730.00, before returning to proximity of the highs as smaller traders were swung around. Trading then continued within the range as we moved towards noon, before the lower part of the range came back under pressure with fresh lows being traded during the early afternoon in conjunction with No.11 weakness. These swings were causing some movement in the white premium value again with March/March’24 having slipped to $131.00 against the early weakness but returning to the $134 area as No.11 pressure increased. There was some vulnerability showing for the technical picture as new lows were recorded at $729.00 midway through the afternoon, however defensive buying followed behind some short covering to take the price back up into the $730’s. The price action continued comfortably within the range through the latter stages with March’24 ending the day at $734.60, a neutral close as the market continues to dig in and try to avert further losses. The Dec’23 contract expired at $746.60 with early news being that 5,255 lots (262,750mt) will be tendered. Full details will be issued by the exchange tomorrow. 
