Psychological price barriers, El Niño, La Niña: New insights for the case of coffee

This paper investigates the possibility of psychological barriers in the price dynamics of seven types of coffee varieties over a twenty-year period. When prices are expressed in hundreds of cents, barriers surrounding the round number prices ending in 00 are confirmed for the high quality coffees. The dynamics of coffee price returns differ before and after breaches of hypothesised barriers. Using a novel model selection method based on multiple testing, there is further confirmation of price barriers insofar as positive and negative climate anomalies affect coffee price proximity to barriers.

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