New York cocoa futures rose more than 3 percent on Tuesday on speculative funds hedging against a weakening dollar and lingering concerns about slow cocoa arrivals in top grower Ivory Coast, traders said. New York Board of Trade's most-active March cocoa rose $51, or about 3.2 percent, to settle at $1,651 a tonne, near the top end of a $1,617-$1,660 trading range. Other contracts gained $51 to $66.
"It was all spec buying today," said a trader, referring to speculative managed-money funds.
The dollar sagged to a record low against the euro while sterling hit a 9-month high against the flagging greenback.
Another trader said market players continue to fret about slow cocoa arrivals in Ivory Coast as the West African country struggles to maintain peace following an outbreak of violence earlier in the month.
Exporters and co-operatives in Ivory Coast say the recent turbulence has made it difficult to finance the purchase of beans, even though there is plenty of supply in the bush. In October, exports of semi-finished cocoa products from Ivory Coast ports totalled 14,700 tonnes, up almost 20 percent from the same month last year.
Yet cocoa bean exports fell about 4 percent to 24,467 tonnes in October compared with the same period last year. Unrest erupted in Ivory Coast in the month after government forces bombed the rebel-held north, shattering an 18-month truce and fanning fears of a full-blow civil war.
International diplomatic efforts have helped to allay the violence, but the cocoa industry still faces logistical problems, traders said. NYBOT cocoa trading volume just before the close reached 6,933 lots.
Open interest fell 949 lots to 115,071 lots as of November 29. Technically, traders put support for the March contract at $1,551 and then between a gap of $1,533 and $1,487, while resistance was seen from $1,680 to $1,690.
Comments
Comments are closed.