| Propelled by Russian buying, world raw-sugar futures on the
Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange rose sharply Wednesday, reaching the
highest level since mid-September.
Despite news that Russia, the world's largest importer, was postponing
an auction to grant licenses for sugar import quotas until early December,
the market survived an early sell-off from speculators. Traders remained
bullish that importers in Moscow will go ahead with their buying plans.
The most active March contract rose 0.29 cent, to 10 cents a pound.
Initial Russian buying appeared at 9.60 cents, said Michael McDougall,
vice president of the Latin American Trading Desk for Fimat USA in New
York. "And then some trade buying - probably Russia-related - came
in, which helped the run" through the important key technical level
of 9.78 cents a pound, the previous day's high for the contract, he added.
Ann Prendergast, analyst of Refco Inc. in New York, said the market's
performance was to be expected after the October contract's expiration
Friday took pressure off prices. |