The US benchmark coffee futures climbed 3.1 percent on Tuesday, boosted by funds and speculators buying amid positive technical signals on the price charts, traders and analysts said.
The New York Board of Trade's active arabica contract for May delivery rose 3.45 cents to settle at $1.1370 per lb, after trading from $1.0990 to $1.1385. It was the loftiest settlement for the contract since February 10.
"It was a technical bounce," said Boyd Cruel, senior softs analyst at Alaron Trading. "We had some trade buying supporting the market and we popped right back up," he said.
The benchmark arabica contract has been drifting within a trading range from $1.0650 to $1.1475 since February 16.
Roasters have been supporting the low end of that trading range, while producers are ready to sell above the peak, traders said. The middle of the range has been dominated by speculators and funds.
"I did see a little fund buying today, and speculators and locals were also buying the market. We closed above $1.1280, which technically is a bullish signal," said a coffee trader, pointing out that trading turnover picked up shortly before the market closed.
Among other arabicas, the July delivery gained 3.45 cents to end at $1.1620 a lb and back month contracts concluded up 2.20 to 3.40 cents.
Estimated trading volume in the NYBOT coffee futures reached 14,163 lots, compared with the official tally of 14,570 lots the previous session.