LONDON: Arabica coffee futures on ICE were lower on Thursday, retreating further from a 4-1/2 year high set this week, while raw sugar prices also weakened.
July arabica coffee was down 2.6 cents, or 1.6%, to $1.5855 per lb at 1432 GMT. The front month set a 4-1/2 year high of $1.6675 on Tuesday.
Brazil’s worst water crisis in almost a century will hamper river navigation and make transportation of goods more expensive in the world’s largest exporter of commodities ranging from soybeans to coffee and sugar.
Anti-government protests in Colombia blocked exports of about 800,000 60kg bags of coffee in May, according to projections from the local coffee growers federation on Wednesday.
July robusta coffee fell by $10, or 0.6%, to $1,591 a tonne.
Vietnam coffee export prices slid to discounts against the international benchmark as robusta prices in London rose last week on supply worries, traders said.
July raw sugar fell by 0.31 cents, or 1.75%, to 17.37 cents per lb.
August white sugar fell by $5.80, or 1.25%, to $458.70 a tonne.
September New York cocoa rose by $10, or 0.4%, to $2,476 a tonne.
September London cocoa fell by 1 pound, or 0.1%, to 1,629 pounds a tonne.