Coffee prices plunge on global supply forecast

(AP) Coffee prices plunge on global supply forecast
By The Associated Press
The price of coffee is plummeting on expectations that bountiful harvests in Brazil and Central America will add to already ample global supplies.

Coffee for March delivery fell 3.7 percent Friday to end at $1.506 per pound. The price has fallen nearly 34 percent this year.

Reports indicate that crop development has been good in Brazil. Central America’s harvest is under way. Analysts say investors are selling holdings to lock in profits.

Other commodity prices are mostly lower as the Obama administration and Congress remain at odds over the U.S. budget. Without an agreement, government spending cuts and steep tax increases will take effect Jan. 1.

Prices are lower for gold, wholesale gasoline, wheat, corn and soybeans. Oil, copper and palladium are higher.