Coffee rises to highest price in a month on Vietnam concerns

Coffee rose to the highest price in more than a month in London trading on concern that supplies from Vietnam, the world’s biggest grower of robusta beans used in espresso and instant drinks, may be limited.

The Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association has yet to make an estimate of production in the Southeast Asian nation. The continued absence of a forecast before the harvest that usually starts in November is likely to drive prices higher, Andrea Thompson, an analyst at Belfast, Northern Ireland-based researcher CoffeeNetwork said by phone today.

“There has been awareness that if robusta is going to go higher it’s going to be in this period before the new crop flow begins, with the Vietnamese harvest particularly,” she said. “Producers are just standing by the sidelines because they want to see how high the market can go.”

Robusta coffee for November delivery advanced $14, or 0.8 percent, to $1,750 a metric ton on NYSE Liffe at 9:26 a.m. in London. The price touched $1,773 a ton earlier today, the highest since Aug. 24. Arabica coffee for December delivery rose 0.70 cent, or 0.4 percent, to $1.8295 a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York.

White, or refined, sugar for December delivery fell $1.10, or 0.2 percent, to $643.00 a ton in London. Raw sugar for March delivery was little changed at 24.96 cents a pound in New York.

Cocoa for December delivery was unchanged at 1,900 pounds ($3,008) a ton on NYSE Liffe. In New York, cocoa for December delivery fell 0.3 percent to $2,832 a ton. – Bloomberg News

Tags: Vietnam Coffee, Vietnam coffee prices