NEW YORK: Orange juice futures ended higher Friday on investor buying as the market was buoyed in part by signs that the euro zone debt crisis may be on its way to being resolved, analysts said.
Spot November frozen concentrated orange juice futures added 1.50 cents to close at $1.758 per lb, moving from $1.7345 to $1.77.
The benchmark January FCOJ contract rose 0.80 cent to end at $1.702 per lb, trading from $1.69 to $1.72. On the week, the contract was up 1.6 percent.
Total volume traded Thursday was over 2,500 lots, almost 20 percent above the 30-day norm, preliminary Thomson Reuters data showed.
Country Hedging Inc analyst Sterling Smith said the cautious optimism in many financial markets spilled over into the juice market.
But traders said juice futures, basis key January, seem to be trading in a band running from $1.65 to $1.75.
"It corrected and has now come back the last few days. Nearby supplies are also a little tight so that could be giving it a mild boost," one said.
Switch trade was also seen as players liquidated positions ahead of the spot November contract going into delivery next month, dealers said.
The market also took note of news that a revived La Nina could cause drought to spread to Florida, the top citrus growing area of the United States.
The trade is also keeping tabs on weather conditions near Florida, especially since weather disturbances could still hit the Sunshine State as the annual hurricane season winds down. The storm season ends on Nov. 30.
Open interest stood at 26,195 lots as of Oct 20, versus the 26,005 lots as of Oct. 19, ICE Futures US data said.
Volume traded on Thursday hit 1,905 lots, from the prior session's 3,268 lots, exchange data showed.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.