Kenya’s benchmark coffee grade climbed to its highest level in four weeks at a sale today after supplies fell, the Nairobi Coffee Exchange said.

The benchmark AA grade rose 4.8 percent to an average of $276.01 for a 50-kilogram (110-pound) bag from a week earlier, the exchange said by e-mail from Nairobi, the capital.

Supplies of AA beans fell 20 percent to 913 bags and sold for as much as $293 a bag compared with $301 last week, the exchange said.

The exchange, a trading platform of the Kenya Coffee Producers and Traders Association, said the average price for all the coffee sold climbed 0.9 percent to $150.06 a bag after total supply fell.

“Prices were steady and superior beans fetched good prices,” Mansukh Shah, a coffee trader at Nairobi-based Alanwood Ltd. said by phone. “The quality of the coffee was better than last week.”

Sales at the auction climbed 5.4 percent to 8,301 bags worth $1.52 million from 7,875 bags valued at $1.42 million last week, it said.

Supplies at the auction fell 5.5 percent to 18,107 bags from last week, the exchange said. Kenya harvests its early crop from May through July, while the main crop is reaped from September through December, KCPTA says. Its coffee season runs from Oct. 1 through September.

The following are details of today’s auction in U.S. dollars per 50-kilogram bag:

Grade          Low            High          Average
AA             181            293           276.01
AB             148            213           195.27
C               93            179           160.10
HE             146            162           153.14
MH             101            122           112.83
ML              53            101            76.31
PB             142            245           210.08
SB              42             59            53.89
T              117            163           146.63
TT             157            203           177.28
UG1            101            185           157.64
UG2             58            156           129.06

To contact the reporter on this story: Fred Ojambo in Kampala at fojambo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bryson Hull at bhull5@bloomberg.net