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Coffee mostly up

NEW YORK: CSCE coffee futures ended sharply up in technically driven trade on Wednesday, as fund buying lifted the May contract to its highest settlement in two weeks, traders said.

Dealers said buy-stops were touched off above 117.00 cents a lb basis May.

May coffee ended 3.85 higher at 118.50 cents a lb, after trading between 120.00 and 113.20. Second-month July closed up 3.45 at 118.60, while the back months settled up 3.35 to down 0.05.

One technical analyst said that while tha market was able to break out of its recent narrow band, the May contract would need to pierce 124.00 cent a lb resistance to look truely positive.

One analyst said that while there was scant fundamental news to prompt today's rally, lower consumption combined with the anticipation of a large crop next season will weigh on the market. Volume reached an estimated 10,600 lots, up from Tuesday's official turnover of 8,270.-Reuter