LONDON: London cocoa futures rose on Wednesday, lifted by a weaker pound and renewed concerns over unrest in top producer Ivory Coast. The March London cocoa contract was up 22 pounds, or 1.2 percent, at 1,814 pounds a tonne by 1312 GMT.
Prices were supported by a weaker pound, which fell back after making its biggest one-day gain since at least 1998 in the previous session. The market was also keeping a close watch on unrest in the Ivory Coast.
Gendarmes sealed off the entrances to the port in Abidjan, on Wednesday, forcing companies including cocoa exporters to halt operations, a customs officer and an employee of an export firm said.
The port is one of the two main export points for cocoa shipped from the Ivory Coast. An armed mutiny in West African nation earlier this month gave only a brief boost to prices because it did not directly affect the cocoa value chain and seemed to be on its way to being swiftly resolved this week.
"If there is disruption at the ports, then absolutely we could see an impact on the cocoa prices," said Edward George, head of group research at Pan-African lender Ecobank. "That might be a game-changer."
However, George added that gains could be capped by a good outlook for the mid-crop in both Ivory Coast and Ghana.
The Ivory Coast's Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) marketing board also denied on Wednesday that it plans to cancel about 300,000 tonnes of cocoa contracts on the verge of default and resell them. Reuters reported on the plan, revealed by a CCC official and finance ministry source, on Tuesday.
March New York cocoa rose $2, or 0.1 percent, to $2,237 a tonne. Gains were capped by a stronger dollar, which rebounded ahead of a speech by the head of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
March robusta coffee futures fell $10, or 0.5 percent, to $2,228 a tonne, having scaled a 4-1/2 year high the previous day on worries over a poor crop in Brazil.
March arabica coffee futures were down 1.65 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $1.4925 per lb. March raw sugar futures were flat at 20.73 cents per lb, while March white sugar fell $0.50, or 0.1 percent, to $537.90.
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