The blistering rally in coffee prices reached fever pitch as adverse weather in top producer Brazil wreaks havoc on next year’s crop, rocketing prices of one of the world’s most traded commodities to record levels.

Arabica futures leapt as high as $US3.48 ($5.45) a pound in New York, the highest level in data going back to 1972 and surpassing the previous all-time peak set in 1977. Arabica – the main type of coffee consumed in Australia – has been one of the hottest commodities this year, surging more than 80 per cent.