With prospects for high demand in China and low production in Europe and India, sugar futures closed higher

Traders polled by Reuters noted that "the market is increasingly focusing on the March contract expiring later this month, with the recent sharp decline in open interest indicating there may be relatively little delivery." In New York, on ICE Futures, raw sugar closed up 29 points at maturity March/23, contracted at 21.58 cents per pound, an appreciation of 1.4% compared to the previous day's prices. The May/23 screen rose 44 points, trading at 20.34 cts/lb. The other lots rose between 16 and 36 points. Still according to Reuters, based on data from Fitch Solutions presented yesterday, the perspective is that raw sugar prices are on average 2% higher this year, “since production is likely to disappoint in several regions, including Europe and India , while demand in China should recover". In London, Thursday was also bullish in all lots of ICE Futures Europe. The May/23 maturity was contracted at US$ 574.70 a ton, an appreciation of US$ 7.70 compared to the day before. The ...