LONDON, April 26: London refined sugar futures inched higher in low volumes from recent 17-month lows on Thursday, and dealers noted talk of a Tunisian buying tender for a total of 28,000 tons of white sugar for July arrival.

A global sugar supply glut continued to limit gains, dealers said.

Traders noted talk that Tunisia had bought two cargoes of around 14,000 tons each for July arrival in a tender on Thursday.

There was no immediate confirmation of a Tunisian tender.

But dealers wondered if merchant ED&F Man, which received a record 810,800 tons of mostly Thai white sugar at the London May expiry, might be the seller.

There was no immediate comment from Man.

Freight rates from Thailand to Tunisia would be considered high in current market conditions, dealers said.

Dealers noted spread trades against a continuing backdrop ofhuge global supplies.

Analysts and dealers said it was hard to see sugar prices marching much higher in the near term given the oversupply in the market during the 2007/08 season, largely from Brazil and India.

Merchant Sucden had already forecast the 2007/08 centre-south cane crop of top grower Brazil at an all-time high of 410 million to 420 million tons.

Analyst Kingsman SA predicted a world surplus of 9.48 million tons for the year to March 2008, up from its forecast of 8.78 million tons in 2006/07.

Dealers see support in the LIFFE August contract at the 17-month low of $298.0 and then at $295.00.

Traders will focus on an EU sugar export tender, with an award tonnage due to be announced in the afternoon.

India sugar production could hit a new record in 2007/08 with output forecast to increase to 28.8 million tons, up from the previous record of 27.4 million tons a year earlier, a US Agriculture Department attache in New Delhi said on Wednesday.—Reuters