Coffee prices posted their biggest one-day loss in a month on Wednesday, as investors who had been betting on higher prices cashed in on recent gains.
Arabica coffee for May, the most actively traded contract, dropped 4.4% to end at $1.3570 a pound following an earlier rise that briefly boosted prices to $1.4444. It was the biggest percentage loss since March 3, when prices fell 6.2%.
Prices hit a five-week high on Monday but have failed to maintain that level, sending a signal to bullish investors that the rally might not last and encouraging them to sell, said Fain Shaffer, president of Infinity Trading Group, a brokerage in Indianapolis.
In addition, Brazil’s Council of Coffee Exporters, or CeCafe, is expected to release its figures for March coffee exports later Wednesday. Exports in February fell 8.4% from a year ago, including a sizeable decline in arabica shipments.
Brazil is the largest producer in the world of arabica coffee, a variety prized for its mild flavor.
In other markets, raw sugar for May jumped 1.6% to 12.97 cents a pound. Prices have risen 8.7% since hitting a six-year low on March 31 as bearish investors have reduced their bets that prices will continue to creep downward.
Cotton futures hit a new, nearly seven-month high, with the May contract up 0.5% to 66.73 cents a pound.
May cocoa rose 0.8% to $2,807 a ton, the highest close in nearly a month. Frozen concentrated orange juice for May delivery edged up 0.6% to $1.1940 a pound.
Suorce: Dow Jones Newswires
