Coffee Rose on Concern Chilly Weather May Hurt 2009 Brazil Crop
2008-06-06 16:15 (New York)
By Shruti Date Singh
June 6 (Bloomberg) -- Coffee rose in New York, capping the
biggest weekly gain in a month, on concern that cold air
forecast to reach Brazil, the biggest grower in the world, may
hinder the development of crops harvested next year.
For several days starting June 16, temperatures may reach
the low 40s Fahrenheit (as low as 4 degrees Celsius) in the
southern part of the coffee belt, said Dale Mohler, a senior
meteorologist at Accuweather.com in State College, Pennsylvania.
While there may not be a damaging frost, the odds of one are
higher than normal as prevailing winter winds are more likely to
drive cold air into the country's south-central region.
``With the recent talk of frost in the third week of June,
the markets are basically not letting prices drop,'' said Rohit
Savant, an analyst for CPM Group in New York.
Coffee futures for July delivery rose 0.05 cent to $1.3585
a pound on ICE Futures U.S., the former New York Board of Trade.
Most-active futures have gained 1.5 percent this week, the most
since the week ended May 9, and are up 17 percent in the past
year.
Lingering concern that cold weather will hurt the crop may
send coffee futures to $1.42 a pound, Savant said. Forecasts for
milder weather may send prices down to $1.29, he said. ``If
frost is not predicted, then there's a likelihood coffee prices
could fall,'' Savant said.
Mid-June temperatures usually range from mid-50s to low 80s
Fahrenheit in Brazil's main coffee-growing regions of Minas
Gerais and Sao Paulo, said Joel Burgio, a meteorologist with
Meteorlogix LLC in Woburn, Massachusetts.
Weather Outlook
If long-range forecasts are verified, the region ``would be
cooler than it has been, but not cool enough to be a problem,''
Burgio said. Temperatures through June 13 should be normal or
above that in the main growing regions, he said.
Brazil's crop for the marketing year that starts next
month, the higher-yielding part of a biennial growing cycle, may
jump to 51.1 million bags from 37.6 million in the year that
ends this month, a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign
Agricultural Service attache report said earlier this week. A
bag weighs 132 pounds (60 kilograms).
If frost does affect the region, it may hamper development
of the crop that will be picked in 2009, when the harvest is
already expected to be smaller because trees will enter the
lower-producing period of the cycle, Savant said.
For related news:
On Brazil and coffee: TNI BRAZIL COFFEE <GO>
Top Latin America reports: TOPL <GO>
Top commodities reports: CTOP <GO>
--Editors: Steve Stroth, Ted Bunker.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Shruti Date Singh in Chicago at +312-443-5937 or
ssingh28@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Steve Stroth at +1-312-443-5931 or
sstroth@bloomberg.net.
[TAGINFO]
NI COFFEE
NI BRAZIL
NI LATAM
NI BVG
NI FOD
NI AGR
NI CH
NI CLM
NI AGMARKET
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-0- Jun/06/2008 20:15 GMT