New York cocoa futures firmed slightly amid quiet trading Wednesday, with market players awaiting fresh crop estimates from leading growing region West Africa, traders said. The New York Board of Trade's benchmark March cocoa contract advanced $3 to settle at $1,499 a tonne after trading between $1,483 to $1,510.
"It was an inside day," said an exchange floor trader. "We got up to $1,510 after some scale-down buying and short-covering. But the rest of the day we just drifted."
Among other contracts, May rose $4 to $1,507 and more distant deliveries gained $2 to $4.