NY juice extends decline to sixth day as supply fear eases

Wednesday, 15 February 2012 02:02

NEW YORK: Orange juice futures ended down on Tuesday, extending losses to a sixth straight session as commodity weakness driven by a stronger dollar and easing supply worries prompted investors to sell after a recent rally.

Benchmark March frozen concentrated orange juice fell 0.25 cent to close at $1.8395 per lb, trading from $1.808 to $1.862. It was the lowest close in a month.

The six-day losing streak is the longest since August 2011.

Weakness in some agricultural commodities such as corn and wheat and a stronger dollar triggered continued unwinding of bullish bets after OJ's recent sharp rally, analysts said.

The market has lost around a fifth of its value since March hit an all-time high of $2.2695 about two weeks ago due to speculation that the United States might ban Brazilian juice imports.

The market continued to pull back from the record highs hit over fears that imports of Brazilian juice may be banned due to the presence of a fungicide prohibited in the United States. Those fears have eased.

Brazil is the world's top citrus producer, accounting for half of all US juice imports and 10 percent of all US supplies. Brazilian juice is used by leading US producers such as Pepsico's Tropicana and Coca Cola's Minute Maid in a blend with oranges from Florida.

Traders said that with retail demand at a stagnant level, there seems little anxiety in the market over the Brazilian imports.

Investors have been reducing their exposure in the juice market. Open interest, an indicator of investor presence in the market, has dropped about 10 percent to 24,290 lots as of Monday versus its peak two weeks ago, ICE Futures US data showed.

Volume on Tuesday amounted to only 2,000 lots late in New York business, almost 30 percent below the 30-day norm, Thomson Reuters preliminary data showed.

On Monday, the exchange said, 2,848 lots changed hands.