Orange Juice Falls to Three-Year Low as Florida Spared From Ike

By Ron Day

Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Orange-juice futures tumbled to a three-year low as Hurricane Ike veered away from Florida, the world's second-biggest orange grower.

Ike hit central Cuba, killing four people and prompting mass evacuations, before heading for the Gulf of Mexico, potentially threatening U.S. oil rigs. Tropical-storm warnings were in effect in the Florida Keys from Ocean Reef to the Dry Tortugas, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Orange-juice futures for November delivery fell 8.75 cents, or 8.5 percent, to 93.8 cents a pound at 8:50 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S., the former New York Board of Trade. Earlier, the price touched 91.15 cents, the lowest since Sept. 9, 2005.

Yesterday, the most-active contract plunged 8.9 percent, the most in nine years, or 10 cents, the exchange limit. The ICE maximum increased to 20 cents today.

Before today, prices dropped 29 percent this year.

Brazil is the world's largest orange grower.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ron Day in New York at rday1@bloomberg.net.