Coffee fell to the lowest price in more than two weeks as concerns eased that supplies from South America will be tight.
Colombian coffee prices have dropped 5% this week, data from the International Coffee Organization showed. Falling prices in the country, the biggest grower of arabica beans after Brazil, may be a sign of ample supplies. Yesterday, futures in New York tumbled 8.1%, the most since March 2008, on signs of a faltering economic recovery.
Colombia “will probably have one of its best harvests in years in the next crop year starting in October,” Eugen Weinberg, the head of commodity research at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, said in a note today.
Arabica coffee for December delivery fell 2.15 cents, or 1.3%, to $1.663 a pound at 10:24AM in New York on ICE Futures U.S. Earlier, the price touched $1.6535, the lowest since August 6.
Futures jumped to a 12-year high this week, partly on speculation of crop damage.
The coffee market has a “serious lack” of mild Arabica beans and supplies won’t improve until October, Macquarie Group Ltd. said on August 18.
Robusta coffee dropped $37, or 2.3%, to $1,603 a metric ton on NYSE Liffe in London. Earlier, prices dropped to $1,575, the lowest level since June 23.
Arabica coffee is grown mainly in Latin America and brewed by specialty companies including Starbucks Corp. Robusta beans, used in instant coffee, are harvested mostly in Asia and parts of Africa.
A bag of coffee weighs 60 kilograms (132 pounds).
(Alistair Holloway, Bloomberg)
