They expected Thai raw sugar premiums, especially for next year's shipments, to trend weaker amid a view that Indonesia would not buy much white sugar early next year following its large purchases this year.

Indonesia usually buys whites from Thailand in the January to March period, traders said, adding that most of the Thai whites usually goes to Indonesia.

"It appears Indonesia bought too much sugar for this year despite its economic woes," one trader at a leading trading house said.

Considering Indonesia's massive purchases of whites from Thailand earlier this year, combined with its tender this week, chances are growing that Indonesia will not buy much whites next year, the trader said.

If that happens, and as a result Thailand produces raw sugar instead of whites, raw sugar supplies in the Asianmarkets could be in surplus next year.

A bumper sugar crop in Australia this year, along with the outlook that Thai sugar-cane output for next year will not be as bad as this year, will not help, traders said.

Most of the 516,000 tonnes of raws and whites bought by Indonesia this week originated in Brazil, with some from South Africa, traders said.

Another trading house trader said: "After the Indonesia tender, there are no other factors. Physical demand in Asia remains sluggish, while recent buying momentum by the Philippines has now paused."

The Philippines completed about 140,000 to 150,000 tonnes of raw sugar from Thailand in recent days. "Additional buying by the Philippines would be limited to about 50,000 tonnes at most," the first trader said.

Offers for Thai raw sugar premiums for August-September were quoted at around 120-130 points per pound over New York's Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange, but no buyers were seen.

There has been little trade in March/May shipments.

As for Japan,sugar demand has been weak, as a long rainy season this summer dented sugar usage in beverages, traders said.

On the Tokyo Grain Exchange (TGE), raw sugar futures were expected to be easier next week in line with the New York, analysts said.

Benchmark September contract ended the morning session at 31,670 yen per tonne, against Thursday's close of 31,610 yen.