A record amount of sugar has been delivered on the expiry of the October contract SBV3 on ICE exchange, estimated at56,470 lots or around 2.87 million metric tons, according to preliminary information from three traders on Friday.
Chinese commodities trader COFCO International was said to be the largest deliverer of the sugar with 22,588 lots, or around 1.15 million tons, followed by Louis Dreyfus Co. with 14,398 lots, around 732,000 tons.
Asian trader Wilmar was seen as the largest receiver by far with 54,311 lots, or around 2.76 million tons.
ICE will release official data on the expiry on Monday.
Large physical deliveries against the expiration of futures contracts are usually seen as a bearish signal to the market, since traders delivering the product might not have had better deals to sell the product outside of the exchange.
The October raw sugar contract closed 1.7% down on Friday.
One of the traders said, however, that Wilmar, the Asian commodities trader taking most of the sugar, has a “strong destination book” and could as well send part of that to its refineries.
“The last time we had a record delivery the market proceeded to rally,” he said.
The sugar market has been well supported by production difficulties in Asia, having risen to a 12-year peak recently.
“A lot will hinge on how India and Thailand develop in the next couple of months,” the trader said.
Sugar analyst Claudiu Covrig expects even busier times at Brazilian ports, where most of the sugar is expected to be delivered.
“So now imagine the lineups (vessel lines) in Brazil. There will be huge lines and waiting times,” he said.
He believes that funds and speculators might push the market higher after December, when stocks in Brazil are expected to fall.