Coffee: Global Report - August 2015

In August international prices reached their lowest value in the last 19 months, following the trend of other commodities, driven by worldwide currency volatility, recording declines.
From the ICO monthly report:

Daily coffee prices hit their lowest level in 19 months during August, as commodity markets worldwide were negatively affected by currency movements and economic news out of China. Further uncertainty could be provoked by reports that this year’s El Niño event could be one of the strongest on record, potentially disrupting the timing and volume of rainfall in several producing countries.

Coffee exports in July 2015 came to 9.6 million bags, 3.6% lower than last year, with total exports for the first ten months of coffee year 2014/15 (October to July) 2.8% lower on 92.9 million bags. Finally, the Brazilian government agency Conab have reported that private stocks in Brazil dropped by 849,000 during crop year 2014/15 to 14.4 million bags at the end of March 2015. 

In terms of the group indicators, all three Arabica groups averaged higher monthly levels, with Colombian Milds, Other Milds and Brazilian Naturals up by 1.7%, 1.6% and 2.9% respectively.
Robustas, on the other hand, dropped by 1.5% to 85.78 cents, their lowest monthly value in 21 months. The arbitrage between Arabica and Robusta therefore widened slightly, with price volatility also increasing significantly over the course of August.