Robusta coffee futures close lower in thin trading<\/p>\n
LONDON (Reuter): Robusta coffee futures were slightly lower at
\nmidday yesterday with traders noting lack of follow-through
\nbuying and selling pressure from Indonesia, the world's largest
\nrobusta producer.<\/p>\n
"The buyers have retrenched...They just do not want to buy at
\nthese levels," said one trader.<\/p>\n
At midday, benchmark September robusta contract was down US$9
\nat $1,530 a ton after a high of $1,544.<\/p>\n
And despite tension in Indonesia - Asia's largest coffee
\ngrower - after the worst weekend riots in 20 years, traders said
\ncoffee was coming through.<\/p>\n
"Indonesia is still selling its crop, the market is well
\nsupplied...It's the roasters who have backed off and are awaiting
\nthe new crops," he added.<\/p>\n
But overall turnover on the exchange was a thin 574 lots at
\nmidday. "It has been very quiet...We are still in a summer lull,"
\nsaid one.<\/p>\n
Traders on Thursday remained skeptical that hurricane damage
\nto Costa Rica's 1996\/97 coffee crop had now reached an estimated
\n20 percent of output at 3.1 million 46-kg bags.<\/p>\n
"It is a bit too early to say what the damage is. They are
\njust picking numbers at the moment," said another.<\/p>\n
Costa Rica - a key supplier of green coffee to the UK - was
\nlashed by hurricane Cesar over the weekend, prompting fierce
\nrains and flooding.<\/p>\n
"Main and side roads in (the coffee producing zones of) Perez
\nZeledon and Coto Brus have been almost completely destroyed,
\nwhich puts at risk all the output of the area, estimated at
\n600,000 46-kg bags," Alonso Lara of Costa Rica's Coffee Institute
\n(ICAFE) told Reuters.<\/p>\n
Cesar killed at least 28 people and left thousands homeless in
\nCentral America over the weekend, with Costa Rica the worst hit
\nof the small Central American nations.<\/p>\n
Coffee futures are struggling to consolidate after sliding to
\n27-month lows of $1,496 a ton, basis September, last week but
\ntechnical analysts said on Thursday that there is still a risk
\nthat $1,496 will be tested.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/robusta-coffee-futures-close-lower-in-thin-trading-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}