Arabica coffee futures did an about face and closed lower but remained within sight of last week's 34-year high on Monday, following the commodity complex down as the US dollar reversed higher. Raw sugar also finished weaker as business in the softs complex was thin following the Good Friday holiday and as European agricultural markets remained closed for Easter Monday. Liffe was scheduled to reopen Tuesday.
ICE July arabica coffee futures fell 3.75 cents or 1.3 percent to close at $2.9080 per lb. Total volume was less than 10,000 lots by 2:08 pm EDT (1808 GMT), down about 60 percent from Easter Monday 2010. The May raw sugar contract dropped 0.41 cent to 25.07 cents per lb, while benchmark July fell 0.40 cent or 1.7 percent to 23.40 cents. Total volume was down more than 40 percent from last year's Easter Monday. US cocoa futures also fell in exceptionally light volume down 70 percent from Easter Sunday 2010. Key July cocoa futures settled $28 lower at $3,060 per tonne.