MUMBAI: Indian sugar futures were steady on Friday as subdued demand and higher supplies for the December-to-March period outweighed a delay in cane crushing in Uttar Pradesh, the country's second biggest sugar producing state.
* At 0946 GMT, the key December contract on India's National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange was up 0.12 percent at 3,322 rupees ($60.95)per 100 kg.
* Sugar nudged down 3 rupees to 3,443 rupees per 100 kg at the Kolhapur spot market in top-producing Maharashtra state.
* "Demand was weak, but mills are expecting an improvement in demand from north India in next two weeks as crushing has been delayed there," said a member of Bombay Sugar Merchants Association.
* In northern Uttar Pradesh, farmers and mills are waiting for the state government to announce the state-advised price for cane.
* A likely rise in import duty also underpinned sentiment, dealers said. India currently imposes a 10 percent import tax on sugar.
* The government has allowed sugar mills to sell 7 million tonnes of sugar in the open market between December and March, including 200,000 tonnes of unsold stocks from the October-November period, slightly higher than the average monthly allocations of about 1.7 million tonnes.
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