NEW YORK: Orange juice futures closed easier Wednesday on sales by small investors as the trade monitored weather conditions in the key growing state of Florida, traders said.
The benchmark January FCOJ contract fell 0.15 cent to finish at $1.6885 per lb, trading from $1.679 to $1.694. It was an inside day since the range was within Tuesday's $1.6715 to $1.6975 band.
Total volume traded Wednesday was almost 600 lots, almost three-quarters under the 30-day norm, preliminary Thomson Reuters data showed.
"It's backing and filling. There are no weather worries in the OJ world at this time," said Country Hedging Inc analyst Sterling Smith.
Most players just kept an eye on weather conditions in Florida, the top citrus growing area of the United States.
Forecaster Telvent DTN said Florida should remain dry before showers develop from Thursday to Saturday, and then turn drier on Sunday.
The market has derived support from investors protecting positions in case a hard freeze hits Florida's citrus farms during the northern hemisphere winter.
A freeze struck Florida in 2010 and in 2011, causing damage to fruit and stressing citrus trees in the Sunshine State.
Open interest stood at 26,354 lots as of Nov 15, versus the 26,384 lots as of Nov 14, ICE Futures US data said.
Volume traded on Tuesday hit 1,062 lots, against the prior tally of 633 lots, exchange figures showed.
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