MILAN – Arabica coffee futures closed slightly lower on Friday. The benchmark contract for March delivery closed 75 points down at 126.35 cents, down 4.6% for the week, reflecting the weakness of the Brazilian real following disappointing data on Brazil’s trade surplus.
On the other shore of the Ocean, Ice Robusta coffee futures for March delivery fell $8 to 1,372, down 3.1% from the previous week.
The March contract may test a support at $1.2795 per lb, a break below which could cause a loss to $1.2380, technical analyst Wang Tao told Reuters.
In related news, Robusta exports for the month of December from Sumatra, Indonesia’s leading coffee producing island, were 55,882 bags or 26.09% higher than the same month last year, at a total of 270,033 bags.
This brings cumulative Robusta coffee exports for the first three months of the current coffee year to 281,055 bags or 43.04% higher than the same period in CY2018/19, at a total of 934,125 bags.
According to Costa Rica’s national coffee institute ICAFE, coffee exports for the month of December reached 35,790 60-kg bags, down 9.6% from 39,576 bags during the same month in the previous year.
Shipments from the Central American producer fell by 30% in November and 55% in October.
During the first three months of the current 2019/2020 harvesting season, Costa Rican coffee exports totalled 61,417 bags, or down nearly 27% compared to the same three-month period during the previous 2018/2019 season, according to ICAFE data.
During the 2018/2019 season, the country exported 1.06 million bags, down about 13% compared to the previous cycle.
