CSCE coffee futures settled at an eight-day high on Wednesday in rollover and options-based trading, although funds and locals were unsuccessful in pushing prices above 75 cents a lb resistance, dealers said.
March 2004 options expiration on Wednesday kept coffee prices from rising sharply, according to traders, while a lack of producer selling helped support the market.
Most turnovers reflected players switching March futures positions into next active May, traders said.
"The trade was a good buyer of the March/May (switch) and the funds were rolling over, but the March options expiration today gave the market some kind of inertia," said Hernando De La Roche, director of Hencorp Coffee Group.
"Everyone was trying to move the market because there were lots of call options at 75 cents that expired today," he said.
A New York desk trader noted: "There was fund buying and locals got long at day's end, looking for prices above 75 cents, as there probably were buy-stops there" for the options expiration strike price.
But prices failed to break through that level, triggering slight selling pressure, the desk source added. Benchmark March arabica coffee gained 0.20 cent to 74.35 a lb, after moving in a tight 73.10-74.60 range.
First notice day for March coffee delivery is February 19. May futures settled up 0.25 cent at 76.70 and the back months were 0.10-0.25 cent higher.
Estimated futures volume rose to 26,111 lots from 23,008 lots on Tuesday. In the option pit there were 3,109 calls traded and 2,606 puts.
Improved fundamentals have boosted coffee prices from the 60 cents level since November, amid a growing perception of supply tightness due to reduced exports by producers like Brazil and Colombia, late crops in Central America and consumer stocks of coffee being drawn down.
Analysts say that the prospects for top-grower Brazil's 2004/05 crop remain the most important factor going forward. Informal estimates for the 2004/05 crop in Brazil ranged from 38 million 60-kg bags to around 44 million bags.
In industry news, Colombia harvested 1.17 million 60-kg bags of coffee in January, up from 924,000 in the same month a year ago, the National Federation of Coffee Growers said late on Tuesday.
The world's second-largest producer exported 922,000 60-kg bags in January, down from 754,000 60-kg bags in January 2003.
Meanwhile, Mexico's January coffee exports rose 33 percent from the same month last year as coffee price rose, the government said.
Mexico exported 209,287 60-kg bags in January up from 157,172 60-kg bags last January. Chartists peg support for March at 73 cents and then at 72.40 cents.
First resistance was seen at 74.50 cents, followed by 75.00 and 75.75 cents. CSCE is a subsidiary of the New York Board of Trade.
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