Cocoa plunges on profit taking, demand concerns

NEW YORK — Cocoa futures fell sharply on Friday as speculators decided to liquidate part of their long position after strong gains this year, while sugar futures recovered from one-month lows.

COCOA: May London cocoa settled down £171 or 3.6% to £4,524 per metric ton.

May New York cocoa fell more, losing 4.7% to $5,341 a ton.

Dealers said speculators decided to sell after the market failed to continue the recent rise to all-time highs.

“It was profit taking, along with some concerns about demand as retail prices rise,” said a US-based cocoa broker, adding that the market remains supported in the medium term.

Ghana’s Cocobod will use part of a $200-million World Bank loan to rehabilitate plantations destroyed by the cocoa swollen shoot virus, the cocoa sector regulator’s deputy CEO in charge of operations Emmanuel A. Opoku said.

SUGAR: March raw sugar settled up 0.26 cent or 1.1% at 23.08 cents per pound (lb), having earlier hit its lowest since mid-January at 22.71 cents. It lost 3.9% in the week.

Dealers said output in top producer Brazil will remain strong close to the record current crop, and that poor crops in India and Thailand are mostly priced in.

There was chat among traders of a better end of crop in India, with some wondering if the government would allow limited exports.

May white sugar rose 1.2% at $638.30 a ton.

COFFEE: May arabica coffee settled up 1.55 cents or 0.8% at $1.867 per lb, but the contract lost 2.5% in the week.

Rains in top producer Brazil are boosting the outlook for coffee crops, while rising ICEcertified stocks are also weighing on prices.

ICE arabica stocks rose to 307,262 bags on Friday, and there are 65,717 bags pending grading.

May robusta coffee rose 1.1% at $3,141 a ton. It lost 2% in the week. —