Coffee Price Trends

As big-money investors launched commodity bean prices to new heights, retailers had to start passing on their costs.

"A lot of roasters, they were slow to the trigger," said Steve Teisl, a Carlsbad trader with Vournas Coffee Trading. "They were really slow on raising their prices to cover their expenses."

The price of coffee on investment exchanges took off last year: the price of a pound of raw coffee beans catapulted 138 percent between June 2010 and May, when it peaked at $3.11 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price has since fallen back to $2.66.

Raw sugar for October delivery rose 1.84 cents, or 6.3 percent, to settle at 30.96 cents a pound at 2 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York, the biggest gain for a most-active contract since July 7. The price has jumped 59 percent in the past 12 months.

Arabica-coffee futures for December delivery rose 1.45 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $2.6985 a pound in New York. This week, the commodity gained 11 percent, the most since June 2010. The price has climbed 50 percent in the past year.

Cocoa futures for December delivery rose $19, or 0.6 percent, to $3,004 a metric ton. The price gained 3.3 percent this week.