US cocoa futures ended firm in quiet trade on Thursday, with dealers saying the market looked well-supported above $1,510, although adding $50 would be a test. NYBOT cocoa for December ended up $2 at $1,530 a tonne, after dealing between $1,513 and $1,538.
March, the closest month to December on NYBOT's cocoa complex, rose $4 to $1,567, while the rest of the complex gained $3 to $5. Those holding December cocoa have been rolling into March since last week as the benchmark contract nears first notice of delivery on November 14. The momentum from that, plus speculative short covering, pushed the December price to a seven-week peak on Wednesday.
But on Thursday's action was more muted, dealers said. "It looks like we have paused for a breather," said a price technician. "The real test will be for December to break beyond $1,560 by next week. Otherwise, some downside pressure may emerge." NYBOT final cocoa volume was estimated at 19,372 lots compared with the 19,886 lots officially recorded on Wednesday.
Open interest in December cocoa fell 4,316 lots to 34,382 lots, while interest in March grew 1,833 lots to 56,568 lots. On the production end, exports of semi-finished cocoa products from Ivory Coast's San Pedro port totalled 2,844 tonnes in October, the first month of the 2006/07 season, up more than one-third on a year ago, revised port data showed.
Port figures published on Wednesday indicated that cocoa product exports had fallen compared with the same period one year ago. In London, cocoa futures closed higher on short covering against origin selling on Thursday and traders noted good volumes in spread activity and As (Against Actualise a form of hedging). London's December cocoa settled up 4 pounds at 857 pounds in volume of 6,125 lots, after trading from 864 to 851 pounds. March finished up 4 pounds at 874 pounds in volume of 4,640 lots, having moved from 881 to 869 pounds.
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