Coffee futures tumbled to the lowest in more than three years as inventories climbed in Europe and the U.S., the world’s leading consumers, fueling concern that supplies will overwhelm demand.
European Coffee Federation data show that stockpiles at ports climbed 9.7 percent in March to 10.3 million bags from a year earlier. Inventories monitored by ICE Futures U.S. have soared 80 percent in the past 12 months and are close to a three-year high. Global supplies will outpace demand for the second straight year amid bumper crops in Brazil, the top grower and exporter, according to Volcafe.
«The increase in inventories shows that there’s good flow of coffees and that there’s more coming in than going out,» Hernando de la Roche, a senior vice president at INTL FCStone in Miami, said in a telephone interview.
Arabica coffee futures for July delivery slumped 2.2 percent to settle at $1.2725 a pound at 2 p.m. Friday on ICE in New York. Earlier, the price touched $1.268, the lowest for a most-active contract since Oct. 2, 2009. This week, the commodity tumbled 7 percent, the most since late July.
In the past 12 months, coffee has plunged 24 percent, the most among the 24 raw materials in the Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index.
Source: denverpost.com/business/ci_23320174/bumper-coffee-crop-brazil-sends-futures-price-three
Bumper coffee crop in Brazil sends futures price to a three-year low
