Daily Market Price Updates and Commentary 10th April 2025

Raw Sugar Update

After yesterdays close the news of the latest Tariff suspension broke to boost the macro, and this sentiment was evident in the higher pre-opening call and subsequent launch higher as trading got underway. May’25 left a sizable gap on the intra-day charts as it traded between 18.34 and 18.50 during the first five minutes, and though these huge gains were not maintained for long the price was still looking healthy as trading settled down into the mid 18.20’s. any trader looking for this to be a prelude to additional movements was to be disappointed however as the rest of the morning saw “sideways” conditions prevail, with small traders evidently more reluctant than ever to take on risk having been stopped out of shorts established against Wednesdays weak technicals. Such was the disinterest that the same sideways conditions maintained through the afternoon and were it not for the continuation of the index roll we would have seen paltry volumes showing. All was calm until the final 90-minutes where an initial drop to extend the range gathered pace at the second attempt and sent the price back to 18.06, the movement again seemingly driven by macro influence over the specs as the energy sector slumped, likely not helped by comments from the fed. Prices recovered by a few ticks heading into the close which left May’25 settling at 18.12. This brings a conclusion to another day of uncertainty, with the outrights likely to remain choppy for the time being as external factors bring their influence.   

White Sugar Update

Taking its lead from the politically driven macro bounce the market opened strongly and reversed recent losses as Aug’25 started the day more than $13 higher at $512.50. This eased some of the technical weakness which had built over recent sessions, though a potential island reversal was soon averted as the small gab established on yesterday’s opening was filled in as the market eased back down through $510.00 once the initial buying was complete. At this stage traders seemed unsure as to what move to make next, such is the uncertainty surrounding markets at present, and so most seemed to make the choice to do nothing which left prices stagnating within the earlier range. A little selling emerged through the early afternoon and extended the Aug’25 range to $505.60, but there was limited other activity and so the sideways pattern maintained. With May’25 now into its final four trading sessions there was some strength being shown by the May/Aug’25 spread which rose to $18.00 against another solid volume of 4,984 lots, something that is quite unusual at this stage given the open interest stood at just 7,572 lots coming into the session. The lows extended during the final hour as No.11 values placed some pressure, though there was some reluctance on the part of the whites to follow and this extended the arbitrage values to $124.50 for May/May’25 and $111.50 for Aug/Jul’25 before easing a little heading into the close. Aug’25 ended the day at $505.00, but it means little as with so much of the movement driven by non-sugar factors presently it is difficult to forecast direction.