Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk.
Coffee prices are under heavy pressure today, with arabica futures falling more than four percent to a two-and-a-half-week low and robusta sliding to its weakest level in two months. The driver is straightforward — easing supply fears out of Brazil, the world's dominant producer, are pulling the bid out from under the market.
Flip to cocoa and you have the exact opposite dynamic. New York and London cocoa futures both surged more than five percent to three-week highs on genuine concern about crop quality across West Africa. Persistent cloud cover and a lack of sunshine during a critical phase of bean development are raising questions about what this season's harvest will actually deliver — and traders are pricing that risk in aggressively.
And on the technology front, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is pushing back on the narrative that AI data centers are simply an energy problem. Huang is arguing the industry can actually help stabilize the very power grids it is straining, though he acknowledged the sector needs to do a far better job engaging with local communities — a notable concession given that public opposition to data center construction has been hardening across the country.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
