US cocoa futures closed a shade higher in quiet trade on Wednesday, but held well below the recent near-four-year high, while July-December position rolling represented a significant amount of the volume, traders said.
"(The) market still feels it wants to test the recent lows but so far, (is) unable to break through them," one trader said. First notice day for the July contract is in mid-June.
The New York Board of Trade's benchmark July edged $5 higher to settle near the session's high at $1,861 per tonne, moving from $1,841 to $1,869. September inched up the same at $1,888 while the rest ranged from $5 to $11 higher.
On the IntercontinenalExchange NYBOT electronic platform at 12:46 pm EDT (1646 GMT), the July contract was flat at $1,856. Electronic trading ends at 3:15 pm.
"You've got good support around $1,825, basis July, and so far it's holding. Volume has reduced the last few days," one trader said. In London, cocoa futures crept higher with Life's May contract ending up 4 pounds at 977 pounds a tonne, with trades spanning from 962 to 979.
Open-outcry volume was estimated by NYBOT around noon at 1,308 lots, compared with the total 12,411 lots on Tuesday when 10,702 of these traded electronically. In related news, Brazilian 2006/07 (May/April) cocoa arrivals from Bahia and other states totalled 3.65 million 60-kg bags by April 22, down 1.6 percent from 3.71 million bags a year ago, Bahia Commercial Association said on Wednesday.
In the No 2 cocoa growing country, rains in Ghana's cocoa-growing regions were generally lighter in mid-April than in the previous 10-day period, data from the Ghana Meteorological Agency showed on Wednesday.