Sugar #11 Mar ’22
Moving ahead following yesterday’s session of lacklustre consolidation proved to be difficult as despite the best efforts of the day traders during the morning to reassert March’22 above 20c we ran into selling having matched yesterday’s 20.10 high. On limited buying the price was held a small way below the highs ahead of the US day however when fresh buying failed to materialise the price was forced downward on long liquidation to leave things right back where they started. With the macro having another flattish day it is proving tough to generate new momentum and despite other softs (led by coffee) performing well on the day we continued to struggle for momentum with March’22 consolidating quietly in the 19.80’s. With spreads also remaining quite it was proving t be another very low volume affair, and so it was with some surprise that we saw a small burst of buying send the price quickly up to 19.94 entering the final hour, a fat finger maybe as there seemed little other logical explanation. The closing stages were rather dull and another meaningless session ending with March’22 a couple of points down at 19.90.
Sugar #5 Mar22
March’22 whites had the opportunity to build upon yesterday’s more positive performance and duly obliged this morning with a climb up towards $514.00. Admittedly there continues to be only limited selling on show which is making the job easier for longs however that should not take away from the relatively firm performance which was pushing white premium values back out, March/March’22 reaching $73 and May/May’22 out to $79. Prices held positively into the early afternoon however a decline in No.11 then pulled us back to a degree despite the premiums strengthening by a further dollar. Short term support was found basis the $509.50 high a couple of weeks ago and this provided the base from which we could consolidate within the day’s range throughout the final part of the session. The bulk of the day’s volume was once more seen for the Dec’21/March’22 spread with plenty of positions still to be rolled / AA’d ahead of next Monday’s expiration as shown by the OI figure remaining a relatively large 17,542 lots coming into today. There is talk of Indian sugars being tendered next week and the large OI means it was surprising to see the spread pushed back up to $5.20 this morning though it subsequently slipped back down to $2.30 late in the afternoon. A calm close ensured moderate gains were recorded though a meaningful push higher still feels unlikely at the present time.
