US arabica coffee futures rose on Friday, recouping the previous session's losses as speculators and roasters drove bean prices up toward resistance levels, traders said.
"It came off briefly during the floor session, but it spiked higher again heading into the close. It was a mixture of spec short covering along with roaster fixations that got the market back up," said one coffee trader. In pit trading, ICE March arabica rose 2.10 cents to close at $1.3115 a lb., and climbed to a high at $1.3140, short of a double top at $1.3150.
The low was hit at $1.2890. The rest of the board settled 1.85 to 2.55 cents higher. Traders said coffee started off strong as top grower Brazil's currency gained on the dollar. "It's not like we're running out of coffee, but a lot of this buying can stem from currency issues," said one trader.