Price ratios for cocoa butter, a key ingredient in chocolate, firmed this week on the lack of supplies from cocoa-growing countries, European traders said on Friday. "There is almost no origin butter available," one trader said. "People are reluctant to sell butter, they have plenty of powder they want to sell first."
Price ratios for cocoa butter offered for sale for January-March delivery on Friday were 2.1 times nearby London cocoa bean contracts, up from 2.03 times London last week and only 1.22 times in early July. The activity in the market is expected to remain low in the next two weeks due to Christmas and New Year holidays. Cocoa futures on Liffe fell to a near seven-month low in London in early trading, under pressure from a weakening technical outlook, based on historical price charts.
Price differentials in Europe's cash cocoa market eased on lack of buying interest, traders said. Differentials for good quality Ivory Coast beans for nearby delivery were slightly weaker at around 45 pounds ($73.17) over the London March 2013 cocoa contract, versus 50 the previous week. Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa producer, has been hit by a wave of deadly attacks since August. Gunmen attacked military and police targets around Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan before dawn on Friday, killing at least one person, the UN mission in the West African country said.