Cocoa futures in the US on Monday rocketed to a 32-year peak as gun battles in top grower Ivory Coast inspired fears a civil war would severely disrupt supplies from the beleaguered African nation. Gunfire flared near the centre of the Ivorian capital of Abidjan, inching closer to a full-blown civil war in a country that supplies about 40 percent of the world's cocoa.
New York's May cocoa contract gained $56 to finish at $3,695 per tonne, the highest settlement close in 32 years. The market rose 10 percent in February, its biggest monthly gain since September 2009. Cocoa went up for the third month in a row and the catalyst for the surge is the turmoil in Ivory Coast. New York's May raw sugar contract went up 0.71 cent to conclude at 29.45 cents per lb.
Arabica coffee futures climbed on speculative buying due to continued concern about supply tightness, although it is viewed by some as very overbought, dealers said. New York's May arabica coffee futures rose 3.90 cents to finish at $2.717 per lb. The contract peaked at $2.7840 per lb last Tuesday, the highest level for the benchmark second month since 1977, but corrected lower Wednesday and Thursday before stabilising on Friday.
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