Arabica coffee prices climb to a 1-week high and robusta posting a 3-week high

Coffee prices Monday settled moderately higher, with arabica coffee climbing to a 1-week high and robusta posting a 3-week high.  A rally in the Brazilian real Monday to an 8-1/2 month high against the dollar also boosted arabica prices.  A stronger real discourages export selling from Brazil’s coffee producers.

May arabica coffee on Monday closed up +4.60 (+2.09%), and May ICE Robusta coffee closed up +8 (+0.37%).

Below-normal rainfall in Brazil is supportive of coffee prices.  Somar Meteorologia reported Monday that Minas Gerais, a region that accounts for about 30% of Brazil’s arabica coffee crop, received 24.5 mm of rain or only 47% of the historical average last week.  

The pandemic is easing in the U.S., which will lead to reduced restrictions that will be positive for social gatherings and coffee demand.  The 7-day average of new U.S. Covid infections fell to an 8-month low Sunday of 29,892.

Uganda’s coffee exports in February plunged 20% compared to the same period a year ago, the state-run sector regulator said on Saturday, attributing the decline to drought that cut yields in some parts of the country.