Coffee Rises Most in Seven Weeks on U.S. Outlook; Sugar Drops
October 06, 2011, 3:04 PM EDTBy Joe Richter
Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Coffee futures jumped the most in seven weeks on signs that weakness in the U.S. labor market eased, bolstering demand for most commodities. Sugar fell.
Claims for unemployment benefits increased less than forecast last week, government data showed. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said this week that the central bank was ready to take more steps to support the economy. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI index of 24 raw materials climbed for the second straight day. Coffee prices rose to a one-week high.
“There’s follow-through buying from the Bernanke comments, and a lot of fear has come out of the market,” Fain Shaffer, the president of Infinity Trading Corp. in Medford, Oregon, said in a telephone interview. “Money is starting to flow back into commodities, and funds are coming back to coffee.”
Arabica coffee for December delivery advanced 6.7 cents, or 2.9 percent, to settle at $2.344 a pound at 2 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. The gain was the biggest for a most- active contract since Aug. 17. Earlier, the commodity reached $2.361, the highest since Sept. 28.
Raw-sugar futures for March delivery fell 0.16 cent, or 0.6 percent, to 24.64 cents a pound in New York. It was the fourth decline in five sessions.
In London futures trading, robusta coffee and cocoa rose, while refined sugar dropped on NYSE Liffe.
--Editors: Millie Munshi, Daniel Enoch
To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Richter in Washington at jrichter1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net
