September arabica coffee (KCU26) closed up +3.45 (+1.04%) on Tuesday, and September ICE robusta coffee (RMU26) closed down -24 (-0.63%).
Coffee prices settled mixed on Tuesday, with arabica up sharply at a 5-week nearest-futures high. Arabica rallied on Tuesday amid concerns that a massive earthquake that hit Colombia on Monday will disrupt coffee supplies from the country, the world’s second-largest producer of arabica coffee beans. Among the areas hit by Monday’s 7.4 magnitude quake were the coffee-growing provinces of Caldas and Risaralda, which account for about a quarter of Colombia’s production. Also, shipping firm Maersk said Tuesday that terminal operations in Buenaventura, which handles most of Colombia’s coffee exports, have been “temporarily suspended” and that inland road closures and traffic restrictions because of the earthquake may impact cargo movements.
