US coffee futures firmer Wednesday after late trade and commercial buying absorbed earlier sales by funds and speculators, market sources said. New York Board of Trade most-active September arabica settled up 0.35 cent at $1.1460 a lb. The contract found roaster support after falling to a fresh four-month low of $1.12 earlier. "It was a bit choppy. We've gone down quite a bit, so I think the market wants to retrace to the upside," said a trader.
Indeed, the September arabica price shed 13.8 percent from last Monday's peak to today's low. Many traders attribute the slide to a market correction following a recent surge in prices on market concerns about poor crop conditions in Vietnam, the world's second biggest coffee producer.