NY TRADERS EXPECT CHINA TO STEP UP SUGAR BUYING

  Trade house sources said China is
  expected to step up its sugar purchases following yesterday's
  steep drop in world sugar prices.
      The consensus is that the Chinese will buy between 200,000
  and 400,000 tonnes of raw sugar.
      "China is short of foreign exchange and a drop in prices is
  usually taken as a buying opportunity by Peking," one trader
  said.
      Yesterday, prices on the New York world sugar market
  plummeted by 0.58 to 0.50 cent on heavy liquidation by
  speculators, disenchanted over the market's lack of rallying
  power.
      Speculation is that China will need the sugar for the
  May/July period.
  

