ICE arabica coffee futures rallied in early trade on Tuesday, following a bullish government report on Brazil's upcoming crop, while US cocoa also moved into positive territory amid follow-through support, traders said.
"(The report) is what's moving it up," one coffee trader said. Another trader, however, said the report was a "nonevent," and that general fund buying was boosting the market. On the screen, the ICE March coffee contract was 3.20 cents higher at $1.346 at 9:12 am EST (1412 GMT), in a trading band from $1.3135 to $1.3515. The rest rose from 1.95 to 3.20 cents.
ICE March robusta futures was up 0.40 cent at 89 cents per lb on the screen by 9:15 am, with no trading range. Brazil's 2008/2009 coffee crop is forecast at 41.3 million to 44.2 million 60-kg bags, up sharply from the 33.74 million bags in 2007/08, the agriculture ministry's crop supply department Conab said on Tuesday. On the screen, the ICE March cocoa contract rose 2 percent or $44 to $2,175 per tonne at 9:19 am, in wide dealings from $2,131 to $2,176, a contract high. The rest were up $7 to $46.