NEW YORK: Orange juice futures settled firmer Thursday on investor buying sparked in part by tight supplies while the trade eyed release of a key government crop report next week, dealers said.
The key November frozen concentrated orange juice futures rose 1.50 cents to close at $1.5485 per lb, dealing from $1.5305 to $1.566.
Total volume Thursday was nearly 3,200 lots, over 50 percent above the 30-day norm, preliminary Thomson Reuters data showed.
Price Group analyst Jack Scoville said the market was boosted by follow-through spec buying although talk is also going around that nearby supplies are a bit tight.
Traders said switch activity was also seen as investors unwind positions in spot November before it goes into delivery next month.
There are also some tweaking of positions before the US Agriculture Department hands out its monthly supply/demand report next week.
That report will contain the first government estimate of Florida's 2011/12 citrus crop. Private forecasts released in August predicted the crop would range from 140 to 146 million (90-lb) boxes.
Scoville said the crop may be in the middle of that range.
The trade is also monitoring weather conditions since the annual hurricane season does not end until Nov. 30. Most of the storms that would menace Florida usually form and hit the peninsula through the middle of October.
The level of investor interest remained near a three-year low as open interest stood at 24,359 lots as of Oct. 5, ICE Futures US data said.
Volume traded on Wednesday hit 2,760 lots, up from the prior session's 2,247 lots, exchange data showed.
Copyright Reuters, 2011
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