Tropical Storm Ida Hits Nicaragua

Coffee futures inched down as dealers focused on tropical storm Ida which hit eastern Nicaragua on Thursday, although the initial impression was that the depression was not likely to trigger a reaction to futures prices. Tropical Storm Ida slammed into Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast on Thursday but coffee and sugar producers in the Central American nation said their crops were likely to be safe from major damage. Harvesting of arabicas has been under way in Nicaragua since October. “The storm is a supporting factor, but volumes are very thin,” one London-based coffee dealer said. ICE December arabica coffee futures were down 2.05 cents to $1.4005 per lb, while Liffe January robustas were down $3 to $1,442 per tonne.