London cocoa futures rose on Monday, buoyed by political instability in top producer Ivory Coast, while sugar and robusta coffee eased in thin volumes. US markets were shut for President's Day.
Police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters in eastern Ivory Coast on Monday, paralysing the city of Abengourou and forcing several cocoa warehouses to close in the world's largest supplier.
The unrest in Ivory Coast was of concern to the cocoa futures market mainly because of worries it could force workers to quit cocoa farms, eroding mid-crop output, said Eric Sivry, director and head of cocoa brokerage at Fortis Bank Nederland.
"If the level of political instability increases, people will be pulled away from the farms," he said. Cocoa arrivals at export ports in Ivory Coast are running more than 10 percent ahead of last year, but exporters worry political turmoil could slow the pace of arrivals in the coming weeks.
Dealers said the latest developments suggested elections were unlikely to take place soon. London (Liffe) May cocoa futures ended 17 pounds or 0.8 percent higher at 2,278 pounds a tonne.
London white sugar futures were marginally lower in slim volumes in the absence of the New York market. A total of 2,342 lots (117,100 tonnes) of white sugar were tendered against the March contract which expired on Friday, NYSE Liffe said on Monday. Liffe May white sugar ended $0.20 lower at $735.80 per tonne.
London (Liffe) May robustas settled $11 lower at $1,318 per tonne with the market hovering just above a contract low of $1,310 set earlier this month.
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