US cocoa futures closed lower on Monday, pressured by weaker sterling and as players rolled positions out of May into July, keeping prices below the nearly four-year peak scaled in late March, traders said.
"You had a lot of pressure on getting out of May contracts before first notice day. Funds are the big longs so they've got to move their position from May to July," one dealer said.
First notice day for the spot month is April 17. In the New York Board of Trade's open-outcry pit, benchmark May settled down $30 or 1.6 percent at $1,883 per tonne, after trading in a band from $1,876 to $1,895.
July slipped $26 at $1,915 and dealt $1,905 to $1,925 while the rest ranged from $25 to $28 lower. On the IntercontinenalExchange NYBOT electronic platform at 12:52 pm EDT (1652 GMT), May delivery was down $31 at $1,882 a tonne, with July $26 lower at $1,915. Electronic trading ends at 3:15 pm both NYBOT and the London market were closed on Good Friday, while London remained closed for Easter on Monday and will reopen Tuesday.
NYBOT estimated volume around noon at 5,232 lots, compared to the 14,520 tallied on Thursday when 8,651 of these traded electronically. Abundant rains in Ivory Coast's cocoa regions last week bode well for the April-September mid-crop after a prolonged drought earlier this year in the world's top cocoa producer, farmers said on Monday.
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