Price surges to highest level in 12 years

Photo / Martin Sykes

Coffee jumped yesterday, closing at the highest price in 12 years, as hedge funds boosted purchases and the dollar's slump enhanced the allure of commodities. Cocoa also gained.

The greenback fell to a three-month low against a basket of six major currencies. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials surged to the highest level since May 5. In the week ended July 20, net-long positions held by hedge-fund managers and other large speculators in New York coffee futures rose for the sixth week to the highest level since March 2008.

"The market broke through US$1.70 ($2.35), and that triggered a lot of buying from speculators and funds," said Hernando de la Roche, a director at Hencorp Futures in Miami.

Arabica coffee for September delivery surged 5.65c, or 3.4 per cent, to close at US$1.73 a pound on ICE Futures US in New York, the highest settlement for a most-active contract since February 23, 1998. This year, the price has gained 27 per cent.

Earlier, coffee reached US$1.746, the highest intraday price since June 24. On that date, the commodity climbed to a 12-year high of US$1.765.

"The dollar is falling, giving commodities a boost in general," said Fain Shaffer, president of Infinity Trading Corp in Medford, Oregon. Arabica prices in Brazil will stay near a five-year high as demand outpaces supply, according to Cepea, a research group at the University of Sao Paulo.

On London's Liffe exchange, robusta-coffee futures for September delivery gained US$26, or 1.5 per cent, to close at US$1747 a metric tonne.

- BLOOMBERG