Coffee price soars to new high even as Trump backs off Colombia trade war

President Donald Trump has backed off his threatened trade war with Colombia, but that hasn't stopped one of that country's cheap exports from surging in price.

The Wall Street Journal reports that arabica coffee prices hit a "record level" on Monday as futures for the commodity "rose 0.8% to $3.50 a pound in midday trading in Europe, having reached as high as $3.56 earlier in the session." This tops the previous record set back in December of $3.48 when concerns arose about this year's coffee harvest in Brazil.

The Journal's report also highlights a research note from analysts at JPMorgan who write that the increase in coffee futures should be seen in the context of Trump's threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico, which are the United States' two largest trading partners.

ALSO READ: All Senate Dems unite to send damning message to Trump

“Potential tariffs on imports from these countries could be much more impactful to both complex-wide pricing and U.S. price differentials more specifically,” the JPMorgan analysts said.

Coffee isn't the only staple grocery facing upward pricing pressure, as the price of eggs has also hit a record high in recent days due largely to the impact of bird flu.

While presidents typically have little or no power to lower grocery prices, Trump nonetheless vowed to voters that he would get prices to come down quickly after taking office.

What's more, many experts say that two of Trump's signature policy ideas -- tariffs and mass deportations that could impact undocumented farm workers -- are more likely to increase the price of groceries.