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MILAN – Coffee futures markets saw modest gains yesterday, Monday 29 December. In New York, the ICE Arabica contract for March delivery gained 0.5%, closing slightly higher at 352.15 cents. In London, March ICE robusta coffee rose by 0.7%, compared to Wednesday 24 December, to settle at $3,884.
Market participants are continuing to closely monitor the situation in Brazil, where rainfall in Minas Gerais remains well below seasonal averages, although weather forecasts indicate the possibility of rain returning in the second half of this week ad into next week.
The situation remains worrisome in Indonesia’s northern Sumatra, where many areas have saturated soils, leaving local areas vulnerable to flooding every time moderate to heavy rain develops.
On the other hand, dry weather conditions prevailed in the Central Highlands of Vietnam over the weekend, helping harvesting and drying operations.
The weather is expected to remain favourable throughout this week. According to local sources, there has been a sharp recovery in farmgate prices, which have risen to 95,200–97,000 dong ($3.62–$3.69) per kilogram compared to 88,700–90,000 dong last week.
“More beans are coming, and the market has turned upbeat in recent days,” said a trader based in the coffee belt, quoted by Teuters.
“It’s now much easier to align prices between buyers and sellers.” Another trader said this is the right time to buy beans as supplies are abundant before farmers start hoarding when stocks start to deplete.
“Vietnam will remain the sole supplier of Robusta until Indonesia’s mini-harvest begins in April next year. Prices are expected to rise once farmers stop releasing beans in bulk,” the second trader said, also speaking to Reuters.
