New York cocoa futures ended steady to slightly weaker on Monday as speculative funds liquidated positions following a long holiday weekend. New York Board of Trade's most-active March cocoa settled unchanged at $1,600 a tonne, after dealing from $1,553 to $1,603. Other contracts eased $1 to $15 from last on Wednesday. The New York cocoa market was closed on Thursday and Friday for US Thanksgiving.
Traders said commercial buying late in the session helped to absorb selling by speculative funds and producers, while logistical problems continued to hamper cocoa exports from top grower Ivory Coast. "There are some logistical problems on the ground in Ivory Coast. The flow of money is uncertain and booking freight and shipping cocoa out is not back to normal," said a cocoa analyst in New York. "The problems may be worked out over time, but they seem to be hindering the flow of cocoa and hedging at this point in time," he said.
In a Reuters story from Abidjan, exporters and co-operatives in Ivory Coast said bean arrivals at ports were slow because financing for cocoa purchases has been difficult to obtain following recent political tension and volatile prices.
Ivory Coast plunged into crisis in the month when government forces bombed the rebel-held north, shattering an 18-month truce and raising fears of a full-blow civil war and disruptions to the country's lucrative cocoa industry.
New York Board of Trade's cocoa trading volume just before the close was estimated at 6,677 lots, versus 4,431 lots last on Wednesday.
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