The raw sugar market was shut on Monday for Christmas. The New York Board of Trade's benchmark March raw sugar contract eased 0.08 cent to end at 14.55 cents a lb, moving from 14.46 to 14.66 cents.
Last on Friday, the contract finished at 14.64 cents in the highest close on the spot weekly charts for sugar since trading above 15 cents in 1995.
May sugar shed 0.07 to 14.64 cents. One contracts aside, the rest lost from 0.04 to 0.06 cent. "It's holiday trading and London's out," said Judy Gains, an analyst for commodity firms J. Ganges Consulting.
The London white sugar market is closed for Christmas and trading there resumes on Wednesday. Sugar has charged to its highest level in nearly 11 years due to the rising use of cane to produce the bifocal ethanol, EU changes in sugar farming which will cut sugar output, a supply deficit and heavy buying by funds in charge of large pools of money which are betting on higher sugar prices.
Futures banked on follow-through buying to hoist sugar to its high for the day, but that advance soon petered out from sales by small speculators, dealers said.
"Most of the guys are out and the market is holding well by coming back pretty good from the lows," one said.
Technicians see resistance in the March contract at 14.90 and 15 cents, with support at 14.50 and 14 cents.
Open interest in the No 11 raw sugar market rose 1,928 lots to 533,640 lots as of December 23. Volume before the close stood at 12,526 lots, from the previous tally of 44,169 contracts.
Call volume reached 5,295 lots and put volume stood at 3,052 lots.
The ethanol market was largely unthreaded. US domestic sugar prices ended flat to firmer.
March rose 0.10 to 22.10 cents a lb. and May added 0.02 to 21.95 cents.
Two contracts aside, the rest were flat. Volume before the close hit 57 contracts, from the previous 130 lots.