Cocoa rose to the highest level in more than a week in New York on concerns the harvest in Ivory Coast, the world’s largest producer, could be disrupted as fighting persists. Coffee advanced.
Sporadic gunfire and reports of looting in the commercial capital, Abidjan, damped hopes of a quick recovery after four months of post-election conflict. Production may continue to be disrupted because farmers fled plantations due to the violence, according to Exclusive Analysis, a London-based specialist intelligence company.
“We now face a reality of continued violence in a war-torn country,” Connor Noonan, an analyst at Castlestone Management Ltd. in London said today in an e-mail. “It will be some time before everything gets back to normal.”
Cocoa for July delivery climbed $14, or 0.5 percent, to $3,070 a metric ton by 7:46 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. The price reached $3,095 a ton earlier today, the highest since April 4. Cocoa for July delivery rose 6 pounds, or 0.3 percent, to 1,943 pounds ($3,164) a ton on NYSE Liffe in London.
Unrest is likely to continue in the cocoa-producing southwest, as well as Abidjan, the main port, and the capital, Yamoussoukro, said Robert Besseling, a senior Africa forecaster at Exclusive Analysis.
Armed militia that backed former president Laurent Gbagbo took over the police station in the Abidjan suburb of Yopougon and declared it their headquarters, resident Marc Gbah said yesterday. Renewed violence came a day after troops loyal to President-elect Alassane Ouattara captured the former leader.
Coffee Climbs
Arabica coffee for July delivery was up 1.7 percent to $2.8155 a pound on ICE. Robusta coffee for July delivery advanced $37, or 1.5 percent, to $2,463 a ton on NYSE Liffe.
Uganda, Africa’s second-biggest coffee exporter, slashed its shipment forecast for the 2010-11 season by 16 percent to 2.6 million bags after a drought cut yields, the Uganda Coffee Development Authority said. Robusta beans make up about 85 percent of the nation’s annual production.
Raw sugar futures for July delivery climbed 0.4 percent to 24.47 cents a pound in New York. White, or refined, sugar futures for August delivery increased 0.5 percent to $652.60 a ton in London.
To contact the reporter on this story: Isis Almeida in London at Ialmeida3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at Ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.
