Liffe coffee closes higher

London coffee closed higher on Friday as roasters and speculators bought while origin remained absent, dealers said.
A technical problem in Liffe suspended trade in all the financial and commodity products for more than one hour in the afternoon but dealers said it didn't have any impact on prices.
Intense spread activity, with players rolling out of the front month, contributed to boost the turnover but the market remained in a narrow range.
Dealers said the outlook was for a flat market, with prices risking a fresh sell out from funds.
Benchmark May closed $12 up at $747 a tonne on 7,268 lots, having moved in a $749-733 range.
Front month March gained $10 at $724 on 5,823 lots, out of a large total volume of 16,361 lots.
"There is some roaster support and also some spec buying coming along because they seem to have done too much (selling) yesterday," a dealer said.
Prices retreated on heavy fund and speculative liquidation, under the influence of first notice day for the front month in New York, and hit a six-week low at $727 on Thursday.
Dealers said there was industry fixing and buying mainly down the board, as roasters profited from a relative strong euro against the dollar and the six-week lows.
Front spread traded weighted on prices with active liquidation of March and the March/May switch widening slightly to around a $23 discount.
Liffe said valid certified coffee stocks at its nominated warehouses as of February 16 were 27,384 five-tonne lots, down from 30,996 on February 2.
This number reflected the suspension of 3,154 lots for which the exchange said last Monday it would put on hold the certification pending further investigation and reassessment of quality.
The market awaits further clarification on this issue from Liffe, dealers said.
LIFFE COFFEE STOCKS UP: The London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange said valid certified coffee stocks at its nominated warehouses as of February 16 were 27,384 five-tonne lots, up from 30,996 on February 2.
The Belgium port of Antwerp was the busiest with 23,630 lots, versus 27,196 on February 2.
Liffe said last Monday it would suspend the certification of certain lots of robusta coffee stored at its nominated warehouses pending further investigation and reassessment of quality.
It added the effect of this would be to reduce by 3,154 lots the level of valid certified stocks and it would be reflected in this fortnightly stock figure.