Sugar #11 Mar’22
The early part of today’s session saw March’22 trading either side of unchanged however activity soon contracted to very low levels and for the next three hours the price became confined to a very tight 18.46/18.51 band. The start of the US-day and increased spec activity that it brings drew some selling to push the price back down to 18.40 however with no significant substance behind any of the activity prices returned to unchanged levels against short covering by mid-afternoon. The macro was showing negative in a reversal of yesterday, though crude remains solid as concerns continue over potential Russian action around the Ukraine. Working through some scale buying to an eventual session low at 18.31 during the final hour the market found a lifeline in the form of short covering that took March’22 back to 18.49 ahead of the close, and though selling returned for the call with March’22 settling at 18.41 the daily losses were single digit only. The recent falls provide a feeling that further de-risking is taking place with uncertainty surrounding global markets at the present time, all of which points to continuing action within the broad monthly range until more news is known.
Sugar #5 Mar’22
Having pushed up by a couple of dollars against initial hedge lifting the market soon calmed with March’22 sitting on support at $500 exactly throughout the morning. Some volatility emerged during the early afternoon in line with the start of the US-day with a sharp dip to $498.60 but with the movement only being driven by spec activity a similarly sharp recovery quickly returned prices to match the morning highs. This proved to be a mere false dawn however as the recent struggles were renewed, the weaker macro quashing hopes that prices could reverse yesterday’s losses. Led by No.11 the price pulled lower once more over the rest of the afternoon, though the relative strength was notable with white premium values recovering some of the recent lost ground as March/March’22 moved back above $93 and May/May’22 worked into selling at $92. Holding above yesterday’s lows the day traders looked to cover back shorts ahead of the closing call and led prices back into credit, and while the conclusion of the day with March’22 just 0.10c lower at $499.70 was non-descript it did show some appetite to try and hold as we await both physical and geopolitical news which could sway influence.
