London cocoa futures declined on Thursday but remained within the past week's range as lack of speculative and industry interest deprived the market of momentum, traders said. Liffe's benchmark July eased seven pounds to 817 pounds a tonne after an 814-826 range. Volume was thin at 2,237 lots out of a total of 6,425. "It's in no man's land, it's trading within a range, there's nothing particularly significant about today's decline," a trader said.
Prices touched the weakest level for a second-month contract since mid-July with a low of 811 on Tuesday. The market has lost about 10 percent in a month on a combination of fund pressure and dwindling supply worries.
A breakthrough in the stalemate between warring sides in top cocoa producer Ivory Coast has helped drag prices lower by reducing the risk of political instability upsetting exports.
Ivory Coast's main opposition leader Alassane Ouattara on Wednesday welcomed President Laurent Gbagbo's decision to let him stand in October elections, a move seen as key to reviving a stalled peace process.
Still, some traders said the market is likely to remain cautious until elections slated for October are over and prove peaceful.
Ivory Coast has set a late October date for the first round of presidential elections meant to draw a line under a civil war that has split the world's top cocoa grower, a government minister said on Thursday.
Exports of semi-finished cocoa products from Ivory Coast totalled 126,734 tonnes from October to March, up about 35 percent on a year ago, port data showed on Thursday.
Europe's chocolate industry was mainly absent from the cash market over the past week because they stocked up earlier this month and are awaiting further price declines, traders said on Thursday.
COFFEE FALLS: London robusta coffee slipped back from the previous session's six-week high on an absence of fund interest in soft commodities markets on Thursday, traders said.
Turnover was fairly heavy at 23,461 lots but bulked out by structural and options trade.
Liffe's most-active July reversed an earlier advance up to a session high of $1,100 and ended $6 lower at $1,086 a tonne, up from the day's low of $1,081. Volume was 9,908 lots.
"It's quiet. Funds seem to have come out of the markets and have left a lot of people battered and bruised," a dealer said.
The July contract had its highest settlement price in about six weeks on Wednesday after renewed buying by funds and speculators over the past week. Traders have been bracing for a breach of March 11's five-year continuation high of $1,125.
May drew heavy volume too, shifting 5,628 lots, mainly because of contract rolling out of the front month and trade Against Actuals. It finished at $1,050, down $4. September lost $6 to $1,112 and drew volume of 4,100 lots.
SUGAR ENDS WEAKER: London white sugar futures closed lower on Thursday, pressured by producer selling in New York ahead of the expiry of the May raw sugar futures contract on Friday, dealers said.
Liffe August closed $2.00 down at $246.10 a tonne in volume of 1,340 lots, having moved from $248.50 to $245.00.
October ended down $1.90 at $244.60 in volume of 346 lots, after trading from $246.90 to $244.00.
"London is tracking the New York market. There is not much arbitrage around today, but there is producer selling against expiry of the New York May contract," one trader said.
Another trader referred to speculator sales.
Traders said white sugar futures did not respond to news that the World Trade Organisation's top court on Thursday rejected an appeal by the EU against an earlier verdict that much of its subsidised sugar exports was illegal.
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