FCOJ Review: Market Falls On Broad Commodity Pressure

Frozen concentrated orange juice futures fell Wednesday on widespread selling in the commodity sector linked to a firm dollar and a lower equities market. Nearby November orange juice on ICE Futures U.S. fell 1.25 cents to settle at $1.1205 a pound. Most active January lost 1.15 cents to end at $1.1625 a pound.

« Orange juice just kind of went along for the ride. We saw quite a bit of spec selling pressure in commodities today, » said one FCOJ broker. Futures remained in narrow ranges, however, and January juice was confined within Tuesday’s range in the absence of new fundamental developments.

The market may continue to trade in a range in such a thin news environment, now that traders know they are dealing with a smaller-than-expected Florida orange crop and there are no tropical storms to threaten the crop, the broker said.

The U.S. Agriculture Department pegged the 2009-10 crop at 136 million 90-pound boxes, a 16% decline from last year. Technically, resistance is encountered on January juice at $1.1865, then at $1.2060 and the 13-month high of $1.2160 a pound. Support is uncovered at $1.1390, $1.1340 and near $1.1100 a pound.

Florida agriculture officials said on Monday that 34 packing houses have begun shipping fresh fruit, and six juice processing plants have opened. The processors are running fruit in small quantities, however, at this early stage of the 2009-10 season.

Source : FutureSource