ICE cocoa finished quietly higher on Friday, in an inside day of thin dealings, following global markets that were buoyed by the US government's steps to stem the credit crisis, traders said. Benchmark December settled up $34 at $2,690 per tonne, the day's high, with the low at $2,629. In after hours trade at 12:20 pm EDT (1620 GMT), December futures were up $41 at $2,697 per tonne.
ICE cocoa futures trade until 3:15 pm EDT. Short covering provided a boost - traders. The strong sterling against the dollar also had a positive effect on the market - traders. Thin volume after Thursday's strong 7 percent move up in intraday dealings, but the upward momentum shed a positive light on the market - traders.
The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, which tracks 19 commodity futures contracts, including cocoa, moved higher. Global cocoa demand growth expected to fall to below 2 percent year-on-year in 2008/09, due to the economic downturn - senior official with the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO).
The upcountry price of graded Nigerian cocoa beans rose by 4 percent to 280,000 naira ($2,377) per tonne in the past month, lifted by a persistent quality-bean supply shortfall - exporters and buyers. Additional showers and thunderstorms to track west across West Africa, bringing 0.1 to 1-plus inch of rain mostly in the southern portions of the region through Tuesday - DTN Meteorlogix.