Arabica coffee futures turned higher in early trade Thursday, recouping Wednesday's steep losses as speculative buying returned to the market, dealers said. Meanwhile, cocoa was mixed in quiet trade. "We sold off yesterday because we had some forecasts for rain (in Brazil) but it doesn't look like it's going to rain that much," one coffee trader said.
On the screen, ICE December coffee was up 1.30 cents at $1.2990 per lb at 9:10 am EDT, moving from $1.2650 to $1.3050. The rest ranged 0.60 to 1.25 cents higher.
On the floor, benchmark December was up 1.25 cents at $1.2985 at 9:12 am, trading from $1.2940 to $1.3050. Cocoa was mixed in rangebound dealings and thin trade. In the open-outcry pit, December cocoa was down $6 at the session low $2,040 per tonne at 9:13 am, with the high at $2,054.