HANOI/BANDAR LAMPUNG: Vietnam’s domestic coffee prices were little changed on Thursday from a week earlier, with trading expected to remain subdued until the next harvest in October, traders said. Farmers in the central highlands, Vietnam’s largest coffee-growing area, sold beans for 65,000-66,000 dong ($2.70-$2.74) per kg, slightly up from last week’s 64,900-66,000 dong.

“Stocks are also running out. We are in the last month of the crop season so trade is muted,” said a trader based in the coffee belt. “Beans are likely to come from November if everything goes well.” November robusta coffee settled up $3, at $2,456, as of Wednesday’s close, while the January contract settled down $7 at $2,360.

Traders in Vietnam offered 5% black and broken-grade 2 robusta at a discount of $30-$70 per tonne to the January contract. Meanwhile, Indonesian Sumatra robusta coffee beans were offered at a $500 premium to the November contract this week, unchanged from a week ago.