Cocoa May Advance in London on Lower Supply From Ivory Coast

By Marianne Stigset

Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Cocoa, little changed today in London, may extend nine consecutive weekly advances on reports that supply from Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest grower, is shrinking.

Cocoa arrivals at ports in Ivory Coast fell to 414,779 metric tons from the start of the season through Dec. 14, down from 650,429 tons a year earlier, Reuters reported Jan. 9. The country’s national coffee and cocoa committee said 500,000 to 530,000 tons arrived at ports since the marketing season began Oct. 1, down from about 800,000 tons a year earlier.

“The figures come as no huge surprise to observers as arrivals figures for a good time now have been trailing behind last year,” Stephanie Garner, a cocoa trader at Sucden (U.K.) Ltd. in London, said in a report today.

Cocoa for March delivery climbed 2 pounds to 1,810 pounds ($2,754) a ton as of 10:55 a.m. on London’s Liffe exchange. The beans advanced 0.9 percent last week, extending last year’s 71 percent advance.

Cocoa futures for March delivery fell $32, or 1.2 percent, to $2,553 a ton on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Cocoa was the best performer last year out of the 26 raw materials tracked by the UBS Bloomberg CMCI Index.

Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators increased their net-long position in New York cocoa futures in the week ended Jan. 6, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data issued Jan. 9.

Speculative long positions, or bets prices will rise, outnumbered short positions by 20,856 contracts on ICE Futures U.S., formerly known as the New York Board of Trade, the Washington-based commission said in a report.

Among other agricultural commodities, robusta coffee for March delivery dropped $16, or 0.9 percent, to $1,684 a ton. White sugar slipped $3.10, or 0.9 percent, to $336 a ton.

Four of six traders, analysts and brokers surveyed last week by Bloomberg forecast that raw sugar traded in New York would rise this week. Two predicted it would fall. Four of six surveyed also said white sugar traded in London would rise, and two expected a decline.

To contact the reporter on this story: Marianne Stigset in Oslo at mstigset@bloomberg.net