Robusta coffee hits four-year high
Robusta coffee futures on ICE set a four-year high on Monday as the bean remained good value versus its arabica.
* November robusta coffee LRCc2 closed $1 higher at $2,152 a tonne, having hit its highest in four years earlier in the session at $2,178/tonne.
* Roasters are increasingly keen to use robusta beans in place of pricey arabica, while COVID-19 restrictions in top producer Vietnam and a shortage of container freight are also boosting prices.
* December arabica coffee KCc2 fell 2% to $1.8260 per lb.
* Ryan Delany, chief analyst at Coffee Trading Academy, LLC, said beyond the sell-off in commodities there were other factors such as the rise in the U.S. green coffee stocks.
Much of the market was expecting a decline in stocks. Since they rose against seasonality, this is leading many in the industry to question whether demand is actually worse than what the market has priced in.
* Delany also cited forecast for rains in Brazil coffee areas as bearish.