ICE Coffee Futures Settle with Light Losses by FC Stone

Arabica  Coffee  Futures  for  March  delivery  consolidated  lower  on  a  light
trading  session.  The  March-delivery  contract  settled  55  points  lower  at
119.15 cents per pound, trading only 5,175 lots. Total volume totaled 6,682
lots.  The  low  volume  reflects  the  industry  slowdown  during  the  holiday
season.  The  Robusta  market  at  the  London  terminal  was  closed  today,
therefore New York opened at 8am EST. Commodity prices were pressured
by  negative  data  from  China’s  slowing  economy,  bringing  coffee  down
slightly.  The  Brazilian  real  recovered  2.2%,  closing  at  BRL3.8596,  due  to  a
surge in dollar inflows from local exporters. On weather news, normal rains
continued  for  this  time  of  year,  between  0.20  to  0.75  inches  in  the  main
producing regions, with possibility of augmenting in the next few days until
the  weekend.  Crude  oil  and  precious  metals  registered  losses  again.  The
markets will resume their normal schedule tomorrow morning, and will be
closed on January 1 st .