Data by TradingView shows that orange juice prices jumped to $3.20 on Tuesday, a few points below the year-to-date high of $3.31. It has soared by more than 60% from the lowest level this year. The biggest catalyst for orange juice prices is the unfolding Hurricane Idalia. Some forecasts claim the hurricane will hit Florida as a stronger-than-expected category 4 event. At the same time, it is expected to lead to a stronger storm than anticipated.
Orange juice prices tend to be highly sensitive to hurricane events in Florida, which is the biggest producer in the country. In fact, prices have remained in a strong bullish trend after Irma in 2017 and Michael in 2018.
The most recent data by the USDA showed that the state will produce 15.65 million boxes of oranges. If this happens, it will be the lowest production since the 1934-1935 season. It will also be lower than the 41.2 million boxes it produced in the 2021-2022 season.
Source: kalkinemedia.com