ICE Coffee Futures Continue Descent by FC Stone

Arabica Coffee futures continued their descent on Wednesday. The most active contract for December delivery
closed 115 points lower, at 119.85 cents per pound. Open interest continued to grow, increasing by 1,484 lots
to 184,138 total lots. Since last Thursday, open interest has increased by 7,146 lots, suggesting new speculative short positions entering the market. Total volume reached 24,208 lots, including 5,747 switches. Coffee prices are  once  again  nearing  the  lower  10%  range  of  the  last  five  years  below  119.00  basis  the  spot  December contract.  In fundamental news, reported rain in coffee areas of Minas Gerais triggered the downfall, although it is  possible  that  the  market  has  discounted  upcoming  rains  to  a  certain  extent.  Somar  reported  that  rain  in coffee  regions  in  Minas  Gerais  reached  17  mm  yesterday.  Also,  scattered  rains  are  expected  to  continue throughout the weekend. The Brazilian real recovered, trading at BRL 3.9095, while the Colombian peso closed at COP 2904.19.