Orange-Juice Futures Gain on Florida Frost Concern; Coffee Rises

Orange-juice futures gained the most in more than a month on speculation that unusually cold weather may harm groves in Florida, the world’s second-largest citrus grower. Coffee also rose, while sugar and cocoa slid.

Florida’s falling temperatures may produce frost on Jan. 22 to Jan. 24, Kyle Tapley, a meteorologist with MDA Information Systems Inc, in Gaithersburg, Maryland, said today in an e-mail. On Jan. 11, the government cut its forecast for the state’s orange crop by 2.7 percent. Through yesterday, the price sank 40 percent in the past year amid slowing demand and ample supplies.

“The possibility of frost seems to be all that is preventing a sharper drop in prices,” Sterling Smith, a futures specialist with Citigroup Inc. in Chicago, said in an e-mailed report.

Orange juice for March delivery jumped 1.6 percent to $1.121 a pound at 11:14 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. A close at that price would mark the biggest gain since Dec. 12.

Brazil’s is the world’s biggest orange grower.

Also in New York, arabica-coffee futures for March delivery rose 1 percent to $1.541 a pound.

Raw-sugar futures for delivery in March percent dropped 1.2 percent to 18.4 cents a pound on ICE, after touching 18.38 cents, the lowest for a most-active contract since Dec. 13.

Cocoa futures for March delivery slid 0.6 percent to $2,257 a metric ton on ICE.

To contact the reporter on this story: Marvin G. Perez in New York at mperez71@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net