NEW YORK, Oct 1: Raw sugar prices banked on a steady barrage of trade and speculative fund buying to finish higher Friday, as players turned their attention to the expiring October contract, analysts said.

The New York Board of Trade’s spot October raw sugar contract rose 0.06 cent to expire at 10.95 cents a lb, dealing from 10.80 to 11.20 cents, matching for the second day a contract high reached on Wednesday.

Most-active March gained 0.09 cent to 11.23 cents, dealing from 11.13 to a new lifetime high of 11.33 cents. Back months increased from 0.06 to 0.10 cent.

“The way the buying shaped up going into the close, it’s got a chance of moving up. The fundamentals still look good,” a trading house floor dealer said.

Sugar had recently scaled its highest level in almost five years, powered in part by heavy fund interest and bullish fundamentals, analysts said.

Open interest in October dove 8,263 lots to 14,428 contracts as of Sept. 29. Traders said final open interest may range from 5,000 to 10,000 lots.

Volume traded before the close amounted to 42,173 lots, versus the previous tally of 69,187 contracts. Call volume hit 9,261 contracts and puts stood at 6,771 lots.

US domestic sugar prices closed sharply lower.—Reuters