Arabica coffee hits 4-year high
Arabica coffee futures on ICE rose to the highest level in more than four years on Thursday, boosted by the prospect of a much smaller Brazilian crop this year and expectations that demand may soon begin to rebound.
* July arabica coffee settled up 4.45 cents, or 3.0%, at $1.543 per lb, its highest since January 2017.
* The market has been supported by dry weather in Brazil in recent months that is expected to reduce this year’s harvest in the world’s top producer and contribute to a tighter supply outlook in coming months.
* “The uncertainty surrounding the actual volume of the Brazilian crop, harvesting of which has begun and which is expected to be very weak, is currently deterring producers from selling any significant quantities,” Commerzbank said in a note.
“At the same time, the progress being made with coronavirus vaccination programmes in many countries is giving rise to hopes that demand will pick up,” the bank added.
* Protests in Colombia are hurting the flow of coffee to export markets, the local coffee federation said.
* July robusta coffee LRCc2 settled up $9, or 0.6%, at $1,547 a tonne.