London cocoa futures ended lower after a mixed session, with origin selling pressuring prices down and industry supporting a market that was assessing new data from Ivory Coast, dealers said.
"I think we are at a particular interesting juncture...We have to see how the crop really is," a dealer said. Second month May closed 19 pounds lower at 897 a tonne on 3,922 lots. It moved between 923 and 891 pounds.
Front-month March slipped 13 pounds to close at 932 on 7,411 lots out of a total turnover of 13,265 lots. March/May widened to a 35-pound premium from 29.
The front month was trading at a premium while the rest of the board was in contango, but the backwardation of the front month did not mean a lack of nearby cocoa, although it was offering support to the market, traders said.
The data showed exports from Ivory Coast's ports totalled 512,816 tonnes from the start of the 2003/04 season to January 18, while arrivals during the same period fell 11.7 percent compared with last season.
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