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- * Storm Isaac has potential to hit Florida coast by Monday * Florida is largest citrus-growing state in the United States * Nearby prices race to 3-month highs NEW YORK, Aug 22 (Reuters) - New York orange juice prices jumped on...
Wed Aug 22, 2012 7:34pm IST
* Storm Isaac has potential to hit Florida coast by Monday * Florida is largest citrus-growing state in the UnitedStates * Nearby prices race to 3-month highs NEW YORK, Aug 22 (Reuters) - New York orange juice pricesjumped on Wednesday after the U.S. National Hurricane Centerwarned that Tropical Storm Isaac, which is strengthening in theCaribbean, could hit the south coast of citrus-rich Florida byMonday. Benchmark prices jumped 5.6 percent to a six-week high of$1.2185 per lb in early trading and briefly pierced keyresistance at its 100-day moving average before easing back offthose highs. The most-active November frozen concentrated orange juice on ICE Futures U.S. was up 3.03 percent at $1.189 per lbat 9:55 a.m. EDT (1355 GMT). Prices had jumped as much as 8percent on Tuesday after weather forecasters first raised thealert. The hurricane center's warning on Wednesday that the storm,which was 210 miles east of Guadalupe in the Lesser Antilles, isexpected to build to hurricane strength by Thursday triggeredfresh buying as traders bet on potential damage to maturingfruit in the United States' largest citrus-growing region. Fears of immediate damage to supplies sent nearby prices toa 15-cent premium above November. September prices were$1.341 per lb, up 2.72 percent, after rallying tothree-and-a-half month highs earlier in the session. The last time the state's citrus farms were hit was in 2005when Hurricane Wilma struck southern Florida, damaging fruitsand trees. The storm had followed similarly devastating weathera year earlier. But before that, storms had not harmed Florida's crops since1960 when Hurricane Donna hit. Historically, frost and blight have destroyed more cropsthan hurricanes, experts say. Even so, processors and producers, such as Coca Cola Co, which sells Minute Maid, and PepsiCo Inc, whichhas the Tropicana brand, fear getting caught short if storms doslam the key-growing region. If the storm loses strength or veers away from Florida,selling will be aggressive, Judy Ganes of commodity J. GanesConsulting said. "As soon as it passes, the market comes back down," shesaid. The storm season, which starts in June and lasts untilNovember, coincides with harvesting in the fall. Prices are still well below the record highs above $2 per lbseen in January when the U.S. authorities clamped down onimports from Brazil, the world's largest producer.
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