London cocoa futures closed lower on Monday, weakened by speculative selling but industry buying helped the market to stage a modest rally from earlier contract lows, dealers said.
"We've had some industry interest on the buy side," one dealer said, noting the industry had stayed mainly on the sidelines while prices fell last week.
December closed 9 pounds lower at 802 pounds, well above an earlier contract low of 793 pounds on a turnover of 10,199 lots. Total volume was 18,454 lots.
March ended at 824 pounds, off 7 pounds after setting a new contract low of 816 pounds.
Dealers said some trade profit-taking on short positions was also evident during the afternoon.
Active trading on the December/March spread helped to boost volume with the former month's discount widening, reflecting the market's current downward trend. The 2005/06 Ivorian main crop harvest, which should begin in a couple of weeks, might add to the pressure on an already deflated market, dealers said.
High quality beans from Ivory Coast's 2005/06 marketing season were already arriving at the ports.