Arabica coffee futures closed easier on Thursday as market participants squared their books at the end of the month and the slightly firmer dollar added pressure, traders said. The July contract dropped 0.60 cent to close at $1.1590 per lb. Session range from $1.1395 to $1.1685.
July volume at 7,978 lots. Market weighed down slightly by the firm US dollar, but the majority of the pressure seen coming from book-squaring on the last trading day of the month as well as investor selling - traders. World top coffee grower Brazil raised the minimum farm gate arabica price to 261.69 reais ($120.48) per 60-kg bag on Thursday, up from 211.75 reais previously - Brazil's National Monetary Council.
The announcement was viewed as mildly supportive to ICE arabica futures - traders The July contract is trading in a narrow range, with a close below $1.13 pointing to a bearish breakout and a close above $1.20 to signal a bullish breakout - Newedge USA analyst Veronique Lashinski, Wednesday evening report.
Starbucks Corp posted quarterly profit that just topped expectations on cost cuts and is planning a multimillion dollar advertising campaign challenging the view that its coffee is an expensive luxury. Total volume Wednesday at a light 8,103 lots - ICE. Open interest by April 29 at 124,527 contracts, up from the previous 123,772 lots - exchange data.