Coffee futures rise as New York speculates

24 July 1997

Coffee futures rise as New York speculates

Coffee futures continued their recovery on the London Financial Futures Exchange yesterday. September contracts gained $60 to reach a peak of $1,575, before closing at $1,560 a tonne. This was a $55 improvement on the previous day.

The increase was partly driven by speculative pressure on New Yorks Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange. September contracts jumped there 13.40 cents to close at 182.50. There were fears of a physical squeeze in the market come September.

Cocoa failed to impress. Most trading was switching from nearby to further-off months. The leading September contract closed at 986 a tonne, struggling with signs that the critical Ivory Coast crop could be a bumper one. Sugar failed to maintain Tuesdays momentum on either Liffe or CSCE. Liffes October contract achieved a new contract high of $330.20 a tonne, but slid back to close at $328.20 a tonne. The CSCEs contract closed 0.06 cents lower at 11.53 cents a pound.