London's robusta coffee logged moderate losses on Tuesday after a session spent following the New York market's fluctuations, dealers said. Liffe's benchmark May futures contract slipped $9 to $999 a tonne after shifting 7,190 lots between $990 and $1,020. Volume totalled 13,204 lots. "As the New York market rallied day traders bought, then when it slipped they sold," a trader said.
"Funds seem to have killed the market on both the upside and the downside."
Fund exposure to commodity markets is at its highest since last April, with precious metals and soft commodities now most vulnerable to a sell-off, Barclays Capital said on Tuesday.
London's benchmark robusta prices have doubled since early November, touching a five-year high of $1,125 a tonne earlier this month on a fund-driven rally.
Positions further forwards shed $8-$9 with September logging the second-highest volume. The contract closed at $1,055 a tonne on turnover of 3,594 lots.
Spread trading and trade Against Actuals accounted for much of London's volume, according to floor sources.