CSCE raw sugar closed mixed on Friday as late-session trade buying led the most-active front months higher after mix of switching and options-based business, brokers said.
CSCE front-month March climbed 0.08 cent to 5.48 cents a lb, after trading from 5.39 to 5.50 cents and hovering above on Thursday's 5.27-cent contract low.
May gain 0.01 cent to 5.68, while the rest went down 0.01-0.06 cent.
"Trade buying came in late in the afternoon that lifted the market from its kind of weak state," said Mike McDougall, senior vice president of FIMAT USA Inc. in New York.
Raws rose as traders targeted 5.50 cents in the March contract, where most open interest in puts and calls was likely to be concentrated on the last trading day for March 2004 options, McDougall said.
One long-time sugar futures floor trader said: "We are getting a little short-covering, generated by options."
Speculators also continued rolling March futures into the next active may contract ahead of the delivery period, while locals were trading March/May spreads, dealers said.
Chartists peg resistance in March sugar futures at 5.50, followed by the region of 5.54/57 cents, with support at 5.31, then 5.26 level and in layers down to 5.00 cents.
March goes off the board on February 27. Final estimated volume was 56,279 lots, from the previous 72,686 lots.
Call volume was at 4,399 lots and puts stood at 3,166 lots. Open interest in the No. 11 sugar market rose 2,212 lots to 273,624 lots as of February 13.
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