Sugar futures in New York fell the most in about a year after Egypt and Pakistan scrapped plans to buy supplies from the world market.

Yesterday, Egypt called off a purchase of 50,000 metric tons of raw sugar, citing high prices. Trading Corp. of Pakistan abandoned its second offer to buy this month, for imports of 200,000 tons of refined sweetener, after the lowest bidder failed to provide a bank guarantee.

"People are disappointed" by the cancelations, said Jeff Bauml, a senior vice president at R.J. O'Brien & Associates, a commodity broker in New York. "In the short term, this means that there is a slowdown."

Raw-sugar futures for May delivery fell 1.84 cents, or 7.1 percent, to 24.12 cents a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York, the biggest drop since March 2. Prices have tumbled 19 percent this month after the most-active contract touched a 29-year intraday high of 30.4 cents on Feb. 1.

Trading Corp. of Pakistan later today issued a new call for bids, seeking offers to sell 200,000 tons of refined white sugar to the company by March 21, according to Khizar Hayat, a company spokesman. Pakistan is Asia's third-biggest sugar consumer.

Sugar prices more than doubled last year as adverse weather disrupted output in India and Brazil. Global output is forecast to trail demand by 9.4 million metric tons in the year through Sept. 30, wider than an earlier deficit estimate of 7.3 million tons, according to the London-based International Sugar Organization.

Eoin Treacy's view Sugar lost momentum as it approached 30¢ and the advance was subsequently capped with a large weekly key reversal. It has now pulled back even further and broken back into the previous range. These are three major inconsistencies which suggest that supply has regained the upper hand for the at least the short-term and probably the medium-term.

An MDL stop could be justified near 23¢, which also happens to coincide with the 200-day moving average. However, an upward dynamic, visible on a weekly chart, is now required to check momentum beyond a brief pause. (Also see Comment of the Day on January 27th.)