Coffee Closes Lower on Pressure From Stronger Dollar

March arabica coffee (KCH23) on Thursday closed down -0.75 (-0.46%), and Mar ICE robusta coffee (RMH23) closed down -41 (-2.19%).

Coffee prices Thursday posted moderate losses on a rally in the dollar index to a 4-week high.  However, losses in coffee were limited after a report late Wednesday from Colombia's Coffee Growers Federation showed Colombia's 2022 coffee exports fell -8% y/y to 11.1 mln bags.  Colombia is the world's second-biggest producer of arabica coffee beans.

On Wednesday, arabica dropped to a 3-week low on an easing of dry conditions in Brazil.  Somar Meteorologia reported Monday that Brazil's Minas Gerais region received 115.4 mm of rain last week, or 193% of the historical average.  Minas Gerais accounts for about 30% of Brazil's arabica crop.

Abundant global coffee supplies are bearish for prices.  ICE arabica coffee inventories have risen steadily since falling to a 23-year low of 382,695 bags on Nov 3 and posted a 6-month high Thursday of 820,540 bags.  In addition, increased coffee exports from Vietnam, the largest robusta producer, are weighing on robusta prices after the General Statistics Office of Vietnam reported last Wednesday that Vietnam's Jan-Dec coffee exports were up +10.1% y/y at 1.72 MMT.

Robusta coffee is seeing support from signs of tighter supplies after ICE-monitored robusta coffee inventories Thursday fell to a 4-1/2 year low of 6,397 lots.

On the negative side, Conab on Dec 15 raised its 2022 Brazil coffee production estimate to 50.9 mln bags from a 50.4 mln bag estimate in Sep, up +6.7% y/y.  Also, U.S. green coffee inventories are plentiful after the Green Coffee Association on Dec 15 reported that U.S. Nov green coffee inventories rose +1.1% m/m and +9.4% y/y to 6.39 mln bags.

The USDA, in its bi-annual report released on Dec 23, cut its global 2022/23 coffee production estimate by -1.3% to 172.8 mln bags from a June estimate of 175.0 mln bags.  In addition, the USDA cut its 2022/23 global coffee ending stocks estimate by -1.7% to 34.1 mln bags from a June estimate of 34.7 mln bags.  

The International Coffee Organization (ICO) reported on Dec 2 that global coffee exports in Oct fell -1.9% y/y to 9.87 mln bags.  Also,  Cecafe reported on Nov 17 that Brazil's Oct green coffee exports fell -2.9% y/y to 3.18 mln bags.

In a bullish factor, the USDA's Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) on Nov 22 cut its Brazil 2022/23 coffee production forecast by -2.6% to 62.6 mln bags from a prior estimate of 64.3 mln bags.  This year was supposed to be the higher-yielding year of Brazil's biennial coffee crop, but coffee output this year was slashed by drought.
 

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