Brazil drought makes coffee 2017 commo winner

Sao Paulo

THE best part of waking up is likely to get more expensive.

Coffee futures are on a tear as regions of Brazil beleaguered by drought last year are heading for more of the same parched conditions. There's been no significant rain for almost a month in Espirito Santo state, the nation's top grower of the robusta variety. It's gotten so dry that the government has reinstated limits on irrigation from rivers.

Prices for robusta, used in instant coffee, are near a four-year high in London on concern supplies will drop. That's also boosting the aroma-rich arabica beans, with futures posting the biggest advance of 2017 among components of the Bloomberg Commodity Index. L…