NEW YORK: Orange juice futures finished lower Wednesday as profit-taking pushed the market into negative territory for the first time in five sessions and in front of a holiday, brokers said.
The juice market will be shut Thursday for Thanksgiving. Trading resumes in a shortened session on Friday.
The key January FCOJ contract dropped 2.95 cents or 1.6 percent to finish at $1.7685 per lb, ranging from $1.748 to $1.798.
Total volume traded Wednesday reached almost 1,400 lots, about 30 percent under the 30-day average, preliminary Thomson Reuters data showed.
"Juice has been outperforming a little bit," said Country Hedging Inc senior analyst Sterling Smith of the recent runup in the market.
He said profit-taking pruned recent gains, although dealers said the ability of juice to hold support encouraged short-covering on the way back.
Winter premium buying has pushed juice contracts up ahead of the time when possible freezing weather could damage output in Florida's $9.1 billion citrus industry.
A freeze struck Florida in 2010 and in 2011, causing frozen fruit and stressing citrus trees in the Sunshine State.
Forecaster Telvent DTN said Florida will see light showers on Thursday and then mostly dry weather Friday and Saturday.
Analysts said the prospect of further gains could be capped as the citrus harvest picks up in Florida, the biggest growing citrus state in the country.
Technically, the market is now taking aim at levels up to $1.85 in the January contract.
Open interest came to 27,935 lots as of Nov 22 versus the previous tally of 27,814 lots, ICE Futures US data said.
Volume traded Tuesday was at 947 lots against the previous tally of 1,551 lots, exchange figures showed.
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