Cocoa prices turn lower as Ivory Coast uprising ends

Cocoa futures were lower on Tuesday as the leaders of a nationwide military mutiny in top producer Ivory Coast accepted a government deal and ended their revolt. July London cocoa settled down 12 pounds, or 0.8 percent, at 1,578 pounds per tonne after dipping to 1,540 pounds on news that the uprising in Ivory Coast appeared to have ended.
July New York cocoa settled down $7, or 0.3 percent, at $2,034 per tonne.
Dissident soldiers in Ivory Coast accepted a government proposal on bonuses and returned to barracks on Tuesday, ending a mutiny that closed businesses and shut down major roads in several cities across the country. The markets gave up much of the gains from the prior two sessions, when they rallied to five-week highs on the mutiny. Dealers noted the pact with soldiers would allow the resumption of this season's strong flow of supplies out of Ivory Coast.
A total of 47,970 tonnes of cocoa has been tendered against the May London cocoa contract that expired on Monday, exchange data showed. Cocoa purchases declared to Ghana's industry regulator from the start of the 2016/17 season on October 1 through May 4, were up 18.2 percent from the year-ago period, Cocobod chief executive Joseph Aidoo told Reuters. July raw sugar settled up 0.27 cent, or 1.7 percent, at 15.88 cents per lb, having peaked at the 16-cent resistance level.
Dealers said the market had derived spillover support from the earlier strength of crude oil prices. Weather in Center-South Brazil remained a key focus with recent rains slowing the pace of crushing. "Weather forecasts predict heavy rain until the weekend but dry weather for next week, which seems to be construed as neutral market-wise," said Tom Kujawa, co-ahead of the softs department at Sucden Financial.
August white sugar settled up $8.90, or 2 percent, at $448 per tonne. July robusta settled down $10, or 0.5 percent, at $1,959 per tonne. July arabica coffee settled down 2 cents, or 1.5 percent, at $1.3145 per lb. "Ideas of better world production were seen once again, and demand ideas remain very soft as most roasters are still not buying much in world cash markets," said Jack Scoville, vice president with Price Futures Group in Chicago. US green coffee stocks rose for the fifth straight month in April, to the highest since at least 2001, data showed late Monday.