NEW YORK: Orange juice futures closed higher Monday for the third day in a row on investor buying and switch trade, as the market is seen testing topside technical targets in the days ahead, brokers said.
The key May FCOJ contract on ICE Futures US rose 2.95 cents to end at $1.697 per lb, trading from $1.66 to $1.719.
Total volume was over 4,100 lots at 1:58 p.m. EDT (1758 GMT), more than double the 30-day norm, Thomson Reuters preliminary data showed.
"The specs are pressing it higher to see if we can get past $1.75 and then $1.80 (basis the spot month) to see if we can uncover some stops there. It's really a technical play more than anything else," a bank dealer who follows the market said.
Most of the running in the juice market is dominated by the ability of the market to trade over the 20-day and 100-day moving averages, dealers said.
Juice market players said they will focus on the progress of the maturing citrus crop in Florida. Forecaster DTN Telvent sees dry weather in Florida through Thursday with some light showers expected on Friday.
Attention turns to the annual Atlantic Hurricane season, which starts on June 1. Colorado State University forecasters predict an above-average hurricane season.
Total volume traded rose to 3,362 lots as of April 8, from the previous tally of 1,842 lots, ICE Futures US data showed.
Open interest in the juice market hit 26,006 lots as of April 8, versus the prior session's 25,589 lots, the exchange said.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.