Raw sugar prices closed largely easier Wednesday on sales by small speculators as the market stayed pinned in a band and will likely be trapped there over the next few sessions, brokers said.

The New York Board of Trade's key March raw sugar contract shed 0.04 cent to end at 11.78 cents a lb, ranging between 11.72 to 11.86 cents. May eased 0.03 to 11.71 cents. The rest were flat to 0.02 cent softer.

"It's been extremely quiet. We're just hanging around unchanged. The specs would bid it (up) and the trade and producers would push it back. It's going to take some doing to get us out of this band," a long-time floor dealer said.

Copyright Reuters, 2005