US arabica coffee futures closed little changed in a rangebound session on Wednesday due to options-related dealings and a mild weather forecast in top producer Brazil, traders said. "We're flirting with that $1.15 strike," one trader said, referring to the July options that will expire on Friday.
"The short to midterm range here is for prices to move lower, barring any weather threats." New York Board of Trade open-outcry benchmark July coffee inched down 0.10 cent to end at $1.1645 a lb., trading from $1.1520 to $1.1770. September futures ended down 0.05 cent at $1.1930 a lb. while the rest finished from 0.05 to 0.70 cent higher.
On the ICE New York Board of Trade electronic platform at 1:51 pm, July coffee was down 0.30 cents at $1.1625 a lb. Brazil, where winter is approaching but its coffee belt has already felt some cold snaps, will see mostly dry conditions and near to above-normal temperatures through on Tuesday, DTN Meteorlogix said.
Robust coffee futures in London closed higher after hitting a fresh eight-year peak, settling back with volume boosted by a position rolling out of July into September, dealers said. The Liffe September coffee ended $29 higher at $1,857, after trading from $1,827 to $1,866, a new eight-year high for the second month.
New York Board of Trade estimated 6,165 lots traded in New York open-outcry, compared to the 5,926 lots officially tallied in the pit on Tuesday, when 16,686 traded on the ICE electronic platform.
Call options were estimated at a heavy 7,850 lot while puts were seen at 3,930 lots on Wednesday. As of June 5, open interest was up 527 lots at 159,466 contracts. In related news, Costa Rica exported 205,859 60-kg bags of coffee in May, up 4.96 percent from the same month in 2006, the Icefall coffee institute said on Wednesday.