LONDON: Arabica coffee futures on ICE slipped on Thursday, with the market consolidating after hitting four-month highs this week, while cocoa headed higher.
Coffee
Arabica coffee fell 0.4% to $3.8505 per lb, having hit its highest since early May at $3.9300 on Tuesday.
“Coffee prices continue to rally, albeit at a slower rate, driven by U.S. tariff-induced market tightness, declining certified stocks, a downward revision in external forecasts of the 2025 Brazilian arabica harvest and fund buying,” Rabobank said.
It added, however, that the outlook for the 2026/27 arabica crop in top grower Brazil is promising and that this could have a significant impact on prices.
Economists expect U.S. consumer price inflation data on Thursday to show that tariffs boosted the country’s coffee prices, which have increased by the most in nearly 2-1/2 years.
Brazil’s coffee exports to the United States in August fell 46% from a year earlier after the Trump administration’s 50% tariff on imports from Brazil.
Dealers noted that the question of whether U.S. President Donald Trump overstepped his authority in enacting tariffs will be put before the Supreme Court in November, meaning a ruling is unlikely before early next year.
Robusta coffee fell 0.9% to $4,430 a metric ton.
Traders in top robusta producer Vietnam are upbeat about prospects for the coming crop, citing benign weather conditions, but the harvest in third-largest robusta producer Indonesia are being hampered by rain.
Cocoa
London cocoa rose 2.2% to 5,280 pounds a ton, having touched its lowest since July 21 at 4,980 pound on Tuesday.
Dealers said the market may have over-sold on the weak demand theme and could be somewhat concerned about the weather, especially with reports of black pod disease in West Africa.
New York cocoa rose 1.5% to $7,577 a ton.
Sugar
Raw sugar slipped 0.2% to 15.90 cents per lb, still some far from the two-month low of 15.38 cents hit on Monday.
White sugar edged up 0.1% to $490.50 a ton.
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