HANOI: Vietnam coffee prices inched up this week in line with a surge in London prices, although traders said that local trade was tepid ahead of the week-long Lunar New Year break.

Farmers in the Central Highlands, Vietnam’s largest coffee-growing region, sold beans at 121,500-122,500 dong ($4.85-$4.89), compared to 115,600-116,300 dong last week. LIFFE robusta coffee for March settled up $189 at $5,452 per metric ton, as of Wednesday’s close.

“The surge in London was due to tight supplies both from Vietnam and Brazil,” a trader based in the coffee belt said. “Although Vietnamese farmers are selling, the amount is not much.