Arabica coffee futures slid Wednesday on profit-taking after scaling a fresh 13-1/2 year high during the session. Raw sugar edged higher but was down from its highs for the session while cocoa slipped as players kept their attention focused on the political crisis in top producer Ivory Coast. The March raw sugar contract rose 0.11 cent to finish at 33.13 cents per lb, a fresh 30-year settlement high.
Analysts said profit-taking hit sugar at the session top of 33.30 cents as most players are in the process of closing their books. Commodity markets in New York are closed Friday and those in Europe are shut Monday and Tuesday. James Cordier, analyst for brokers optionsellers.com, said that is one reason why investors are finishing up so they do not have to report for work next week.
Volume traded hit around 77,100 lots, nearly a third below the 30-day average, Thomson Reuters preliminary data showed. March arabica coffee futures fell 3.65 cents to finish at $2.302 per lb. On Tuesday, the contract climbed 9.20 cents or by 4.1 percent to finish at $2.3385. That was the highest settlement for the market since the middle of 1997, Thomson Reuters data.
Arabica coffee futures down on profit-taking, but get support from tight supplies of high quality beans. Volume was around 15,400 lots, some 15 percent below the 30-day average, according to Thomson Reuters preliminary data. Benchmark March cocoa futures fell $5 to settle at $2,970 per tonne. Focus going forward will remain on crisis in top cocoa grower Ivory Coast.