Coffee Prices – 45 Year Historical Chart. Source: Macrotrends.
Dutch green coffee trader Sucden Coffee agreed to a settlement with the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) following a notice that it “may have” violated a rule designed to prevent coffee market manipulation.
Sucden Coffee Netherlands B.V., part of the soft commodities trading company Sucden, agreed to pay a $20,000 fine while surrendering more than $670,000 in profits gained from the alleged rules violation.
Sucden neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing, according to the settlement.
According to a published disciplinary notice from ICE — the for-profit publicly traded company that operates the ICE coffee futures market, a.k.a. arabica “C market” — Sucden Coffee was found in potential violation of exchange rule Rule 6.18(b).
The rule prevents individuals from holding more than 500 futures contracts in one direction — either buying or selling — for months when delivery notices are issued. The rule is intended to prevent corners, squeezes and other forms of market manipulation. It’s also designed to prevent individual market participants from excessively influencing the market.
Sucden did not immediately reply to requests for comment regarding the ICE settlement.
The ICE reached a settlement following similar allegations against coffee trader Olam International last year. In that deal, Olam agreed to pay a $30,000 fine and surrender profits of more than $430,000. As part of that settlement, Olam also did not admit nor deny wrongdoing.
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Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
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