Coffee Falls to Two-Week Low as Dollar Gains

By Marvin G. Perez

Bloomberg

October 31, 2011

Coffee fell to a two-week low as concern mounted that Europe will fail to contain the region’s debt crisis, while the dollar’s rally eroded the appeal of commodities. Sugar and cocoa also declined.

The greenback jumped as much as 1.9 percent against a basket of six currencies after Japan took steps to weaken the yen. Global equities tumbled as investors awaited details from European leaders on funding the expanded bailout. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI index of 24 raw materials fell as much as 1.7 percent.

“There are new worries about Europe,” Sterling Smith, a commodity analyst at Country Hedging in St. Paul, Minnesota, said in a telephone interview. “The dollar got stronger, and suddenly, there’s a drop in risk appetite. Fundamentals are being put on the shelf. People are stepping to the sidelines.”

Arabica coffee for December delivery dropped 3.5 percent to $2.2695 a pound at 2 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Earlier, the price touched $2.2535, the lowest for a most-active contract since Oct. 12. The commodity fell 0.9 percent this month.

Raw-sugar futures for March delivery fell 1.5 percent to 25.77 cents a pound on ICE. The sweetener advanced 1.9 percent in October after tumbling 15 percent in September.

Cocoa futures for December delivery dropped 1.9 percent to $2,696 a metric ton on ICE. The price gained 3.4 percent this month after slumping 16 percent in September.

In London futures trading, robusta coffee, cocoa and refined sugar also declined on NYSE Liffe.

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Editors: Patrick McKiernan, Stuart Wallace