DJ ICE FCOJ Review: Edges Lower On Profit-Taking

Orange juice futures closed slightly lower Wednesday as traders took profits off of 4 1/2-week peaks set earlier in the session. Ideas that the U.S. Agriculture Department will further reduce its Florida orange crop estimate next week provided support, however.

Most active May orange juice lost 35 points, or 0.24%, to settle at $1.4850 a pound. The session top of $1.5070 a pound was the strongest price for the contract since Jan. 28. March futures ended slightly higher, up 10 points at $1.5125 in thin trade ahead of next Tuesday’s expiration.

Bulls continue to price in the potential for a smaller Florida orange crop, the details of which the USDA will release in its March 10 crop production report. Many analysts expect the government to shave a few million boxes off of a crop that is already on the threshold of the smallest in 20 years, helping to
take prices higher.

The USDA in February estimated the 2009-10 crop at 129 million 90-pound boxes, down from 135 million a month earlier owing to a prolonged January freeze, small fruit and higher-than-normal drop rates.

Source : FutureSource