The ICO composite indicator rallied briefly to above 135 US cents/lb but quickly fell back to the level of June. This comes as cumulative exports in the current coffee year remain at very high levels, up 5.9% year on year, leading to higher inventories in importing countries. The outlook for the 2017/18 crop in Vietnam and the 2018/19 crop in Brazil is largely positive.
Coffee prices in August initially continued the upward trend of the previous month. The ICO composite indicator price climbed to 135.23 US cents/lb on 8 August, a four-month high. Subsequently, coffee prices weakened significantly with the daily price falling to 122.59 US cents/lb on 24 August. The last week of the month was characterized by a sideward move as the indicator price closed on 31 August only marginally higher at 123.45 US cents/lb. As a result of these movements, the monthly average of the ICO composite indicator price rose by 0.8% to 128.24 US cents/lb.
