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CSCE coffee inches up as snow slows activities

NEW YORK: CSCE coffee futures strengthened slightly on Tuesday in unenthusiastic, rangebound trading, as many participants stayed away due to heavy morning snow in New York, traders and brokers said.

Key March arabicas settled up 0.95 cent at 112.85 cents a lb after trading 113.70-111.60 cents. May KCK0 gained the same to close at 115.75 cents and the rest rose 0.85 cent.

Arabicas opened marginally lower than predicted but quickly reversed on light industry interest in quiet activity dominated by locals, floor traders said.

"It's a quiet day, little volume. Some of the floor brokers did not even make it. It's mainly locals in the market and there's not much selling, which has allowed the market to rally a little bit," one Miami-based broker said.

Heavy snow in New York reduced activity in the coffee and cocoa pits, dealers said. "A lot of people didn't come in. They didn't officially proclaim a shortened session, but obviously unofficially that's what happened," one trader said.

Mirroring the previous few sessions, arabica futures remained stuck in a sideways trading pattern, moving in a tight two-cent range.

Traders and brokers said a lack of fundamental news also explained lethargy in the coffee market.

Although it is widely believed that there are significant sell stops beneath the key 110 cent level, industry support continues to come in at the lows, whilst funds hold back from any liquidation.

"The funds are still not letting go. I think that with as much anticipation as everyone has, it probably won't make much difference (if they do). There is a lack of anything else to talk about really," one trader said.

"There's some light industry interest around unchanged levels," another New York-based trader said.

In industry news, speciality coffee retailer Starbucks Corp said Tuesday it would post better-than-expected earnings in its fiscal quarter and raised its estimate for full-year profits.

The Seattle-based company expects to post quarterly net earnings of 18 cents a share, two cents higher than the Wall Street consensus estimate of 16 cents, Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz said.

Technicians peg resistance for key March at 118-120 cents, with support at 110-109.50 cents.

Volume was an estimated 6,654 lots against Monday's official volume of 8,358 lots previously. Call volume reached an estimated 1,806 lots, whilst puts were seen at 1,128 lots.-Reuters