ICE Coffee Futures Rise on Covering Before New Years by FC Stone

Arabica Coffee Futures settled higher on Tuesday, propelled by speculative buying. The March delivery contract settled with gains of 230 points at 121.45 cents per pound. Activity was slow, although better than yesterday’s, due to London’s re-opening. Prices were supported by the recuperation of the real and the Colombian peso.  Yesterday, the real gained 2.2%, the most since November 3 rd . However, the Brazilian real showed weakness once again, slowing Coffee’s movement. Technical behavior might have contributed to the upward movement as well. Nevertheless, long-term trend is bearish, with a well-defined price range since last October, maintaining players active in the short run, acting against support and resistance levels. During the first few days of January 8- 14, it is estimated that managed money indexes will re-balance Coffee’s weight, adding around 5,000 lots to their portfolios.