Most US cocoa futures ended on positive ground on Monday, boosted by market participants covering their short positions after prices touched a fresh three-month low earlier in the session, traders said. "It looks like short-covering from the ring and specs," said a source at a large brokerage. At the New York Board of Trade, the most-active July cocoa contract rose $6 to settle at $1,539 per tonne, after trading from a low $1,516 to as high as $1,555.
The bottom trade was the lowest seen since January 24. Front-month May cocoa, which has its first notice day for delivery today, ended down $1 at $1,494 a tonne.
The rest of the cocoa futures curve advanced $6 across the board. NYBOT estimated trading volume in cocoa futures reached just 6,580 lots, compared with Friday's official 24,645 lots.
"It was quiet today," said a trader. Bean prices got a lift at the start of business on Monday, thanks largely to a flagging dollar against sterling prompting arbitrate-related trade buying in New York.
However, light producer selling amid improving peace absorbed buying and crop prospects in top grower Ivory Coast, traders said.
On the weather front, recent rainfall in Ivory Coast has helped to improve conditions for the nearing flowering season for next year's main harvest, forecaster Meteorlogix said in its daily weather report.
"Seasonally hot temperatures and periodic thunderstorms should sustain mostly favourable conditions for midcrop cocoa," it said.
Ivory Coast's mid crop runs from April through September. Meanwhile, rebels and army chiefs in the world's leading cocoa producing nation agreed on Saturday to pull heavy weapons back from front lines from April 21 and to study proposals to start disarmament in May.
"Most people are a bit sceptical about that," said one cocoa trader based in New York.
"You've probably got a large part of the population preferring to have peace, but you've got important small groups who have a vested interest in sustaining the war."
In London, Life's nearby cocoa futures contracts finished down about 0.7 percent. On the charts, traders put technical support in the NYBOT July cocoa contract at $1,500 and then $1,475, with resistance at $1,610 and then $1,630.
As of April 15, open interest was 119,175 lots, down 3,402 contracts from the previous session.
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