Sugar Sell-Off Deepens as White Premiums Narrow (22 October 2026)
Sugar’s decline accelerated on Thursday. March raw sugar fell for a fifth consecutive session, losing 0.32 cents, or 1.56%, to settle at 20.13 cents/lb. December white sugar dropped $9.80, or 1.80%, to $533.90/tonne. Both finished below Wednesday’s lows and close to their session bottoms, showing little recovery by settlement.
| Benchmark contract | Settlement | Daily change |
|---|---|---|
| Raw sugar Mar 2027 | 20.13¢/lb | −1.56% |
| White sugar Dec 2026 | $533.90/t | −1.80% |
Later deliveries also declined. May and July raws settled at 19.52 and 19.11 cents/lb, while March and May whites finished at $549.00 and $557.40/tonne. The selling therefore extended beyond the nearest contracts.
Trading increased in both markets. Raw sugar volume rose 14.24% to 152,106 contracts, its highest since 8 October. White sugar volume increased 32.11% to 29,540 contracts, its highest since 14 October. The heavier activity gave Thursday’s decline more weight, although volume alone cannot establish who was selling.
The latest open-interest figures cover Wednesday. Outstanding raw sugar positions fell 0.14% to 1,208,928 contracts, while white sugar positions edged down 0.05% to 168,211. Both remained above their 15 October levels, suggesting that the recent price correction has so far been accompanied by only limited contraction in the overall position base.
March raws continued to command a premium over later deliveries, but that premium narrowed: March stood 0.61 cents above May and 1.02 cents above July. Buyers were therefore paying slightly less extra for earlier delivery, offering little confirmation of increasing immediate tightness.
White sugar’s delivery spreads were mixed. December strengthened slightly against March but weakened against May. More clearly, whites fell faster than raws for the same delivery months: the March white-over-raw premium narrowed to $105.21/tonne and May’s to $127.06/tonne. Together, these moves show a weaker nearby market, with particularly soft pricing for white sugar relative to raw sugar.
