Cocoa prices turn lower as Ivory Coast mutiny ends

LONDON: Cocoa futures turned sharply lower on Tuesday as the leaders of a nationwide military mutiny in top producer Ivory Coast accepted a government deal and ended their revolt.

COCOA

July London cocoa was down 32 pounds, or 2.0 percent, at 1,558 pounds a tonne at 1215 GMT after dipping to a low of 1,540 pounds on news that the uprising in Ivory Coast appeared to have ended.

The market lost much of the ground gained on Friday and Monday when the mutiny led to the temporary closure of Ivory Coast's main port Abidjan.

Dealers said the pact with soldiers would allow this season's strong flow of supplies out of Ivory Coast to resume.

"They seem to have reached an agreement with the soldiers. Probably the worst is over," Commerzbank analyst Michaela Kuhl said, adding port arrivals remained well above last year's levels and a global surplus was widely expected this season.

A total of 47,970 tonnes of cocoa has been tendered against the ICE May London cocoa contract that expired on Monday, exchange data showed on Tuesday.

July New York cocoa was down $45, or 2.2 percent, at $1,996 a tonne.

SUGAR

July raw sugar rose 0.22 cents, or 1.4 percent, to 15.83 cents per lb.

Dealers said the market had derived spillover support from the strength of crude oil prices and a test of resistance around 16 cents per lb was possible in the near future.

They noted a breach of that level may prompt funds and other speculators to cover a net short position.

Weather in Centre-South Brazil remained a key focus with recent rains slowing the pace of crushing.

"Weather forecasts predict heavy rain until the weekend but dry weather for next week, which seems to be construed as neutral market-wise," said Tom Kujawa, co-ahead of the softs department at Sucden Financial.

India's monsoon rains are expected to arrive on the southern Kerala coast on May 30, two days ahead of schedule, a weather office source said on Tuesday.

August white sugar was up $5.90, or 1.3 percent, at $445.00 a tonne.

COFFEE

Prices were little changed with July robusta down a marginal $1, or 0.05 percent, at $1,968 a tonne.

July arabica coffee was up 0.30 cent, or 0.2 percent, at $1.3375 per lb.