Thai raw sugar premiums hardly moved this week and Indian whites were unchanged at around $600 as physical trading slowed to a trickle ahead of year-end holidays, but sellers still noted inquires for nearby shipment, dealers said on Tuesday.
Thai high polarisation, or hipol, raw sugar for January-March delivery, was unchanged at premiums of 90 to 95 points to New York's March contract. Thai crushing is picking up after severe flooding slightly delayed the start of the season to early November from late October.
"A lot of people are asking for the same thing such as whether you have sugar for the first half of January," said a dealer in Singapore. "There are a lot of inquiries with no end. I mean, there's no conclusion. Everyone is trying to push for early shipment." Fresh supply from Thailand, the world's largest exporter after Brazil, is expected to enter the physical market in the middle of January, which could cut premiums for Thai raw and sugar.
Despite the country's worst floods in at least 50 years, Thailand is forecast to churn out a record 9.9 million tonnes of sugar this year and export 7.5 million tonnes in 2012. Thai March-May hipol raws premiums stood at 70 to 75 points, unchanged from last week.
Premiums for the low-quality Thai raws favoured by Japanese buyers, or J-spec, were offered at premiums of 40 to 50 points to New York's March contract, barely changed from 40 to 45 points last week. New York sugar futures resume trading on Tuesday after the Christmas holiday. ICE March raw sugar futures climbed 0.15 cent to close at 23.59 cents a lb on December 23, its highest settlement since December 7.
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