New York coffee futures easier on sell-stops

US arabica coffee futures settled lower on Monday, with local long-liquidation triggering sell-stops, causing the market to correct after making fresh highs last week, traders said.
"Some funds were still in profit-taking mode, having longs on and getting out, probably trying to flatten their position before the New Year," one trader said.
The New York Board of Trade benchmark March coffee contract fell 2.7 percent, settling 3.40 cents lower at $1.2420 per lb, trading in a band of $1.2360 to $1.2835.
May closed down the same amount at $1.2705, after trading from $1.2650 to $1.3125. The rest finished down 3.20 to 3.40 cents per lb. Fund buying initially boosted the market while origin selling limited gains, they said. "But they did not chase the market down," one trader said.
NYBOT estimated on Monday's final arabica volume at 19,742 contracts, up from the previous official tally of 16,160 lots. The Life's benchmark January robusta contract in London settled down $13 at $1,425 per tonne, on speculative and origin selling with weakness in New York weighing on the market, dealers said.
On the weather front, Meteorlogix said scattered showers and thundershowers would continue in Brazil, the world's top coffee producer, with seasonable temperatures through on Saturday.
Thousands evacuated their homes and ships were called in to shore as Typhoon Durban approached Vietnam's coast on Monday, but forecasters predicted it would make landfall as a tropical storm.
It was forecast to dump heavy rains on Vietnam's central coffee-growing area during peak harvest time. Vietnam is the world's second-largest producer of coffee after Brazil. A recent cold snap in Central America will slow the new coffee crop but should help improve quality and make the beans easier to harvest farmers in the region said.
A cool polar weather front that affected the region in recent days will help berries mature in an orderly fashion after the year-end holidays, said Fred Espinoza, president of the Honduran Association of Coffee Producers.