US coffee futures hurdled 5 percent Wednesday, energised by speculative buying amid bullish signals on technical price charts, market sources said.
The New York Board of Trade's active arabica contract for December delivery rose 4.75 cents to settle at 92.90 cents a lb, just 0.10 cents below its peak trade of 93 cents.
It was the loftiest settlement for the December contract since September 14, when it ended at 94.65 cents. Funds and speculators rushed to cover their short positions or go long when the December contract broke above Tuesday's top trade of 90.30 cents, traders said.
Indeed, the benchmark arabica's bottom trade of 88.25 cents earlier in the session was about 40 percent lower than the contract peak of $1.47 a lb set on March 11.