Vietnamese robusta coffee beans have eased slightly even though domestic supply was tight, while Indonesian coffee premiums rose on the weakening rupiah, traders said on Thursday. ICE May robusta futures ended flat at $1,442 per tonne on Wednesday. The futures price hit a 5-1/2-year low late last month.
"There are few (export) quotations today as it's been difficult to buy on domestic markets," a trader in Ho Chi Minh City said. Vietnam's robusta grade 2, 5 percent black and broken were quoted at premiums of $35-$50 a tonne to ICE May contract, widening from premiums of $40-$50 on Tuesday.
Beans grade 1, similar to Sumatran coffee, stood nearly unchanged at premiums of $80-$95 a tonne. "Some exporters want to sell so they lower their offers a bit, but overall trading is thin," the trader added. Coffee growers in Vietnam have been holding on to stocks, expecting higher prices.
On Tuesday the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association reinforced the expectations of a price gain, saying the Central Highlands coffee belt could face drought in coming months which will affect robusta production. But most Vietnam-based traders contacted by Reuters this week said the weather in the region has been fine, with underground water sufficient for the ongoing watering phase.
The offered prices in Indonesia, Vietnam's rival robusta producer, rose this week as the rupiah weakened slightly, despite its overall advance against the dollar so far this year. Indonesia's robusta grade 4, 80 defects were offered at a premium of $300 a tonne to London's May contract, rising from premiums of $130-$200 two weeks ago, pushing the beans far above Vietnamese beans.
The beans stood at premiums of around $180-$200 a tonne this week on free-on-board Lampung basis. The rupiah, the second worst performer in Asia in 2015 when it lost 10 percent, fell on Wednesday on expectations of a central bank's rate cut. Global coffee consumption in 2014 was revised up by 0.3 percent to 150.2 million 60-kg bags, the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) said in a report, citing higher consumption in exporting countries, particularly in Asia. The revision means global consumption rose an average 2.5 percent annually between 2011 and 2014, the ICO said.