NEW YORK: North American cocoa grindings fell slightly in the second quarter of 2017, data from the National Confectioners Association (NCA) showed on Thursday, coming within the low end of expectations.
Cocoa processors in the United States, Canada and Mexico reported grinding 123,125 tonnes of beans from April to June, down 1.05 percent from the second quarter of 2016, NCA data showed.
Traders' estimates ahead of the data called for grindings to be anywhere from 1 percent lower to 3 percent higher versus the second quarter 2016.
Cocoa grinding reflects demand for chocolate's key ingredient.
During the second quarter, New York cocoa futures prices fell to the lowest since 2007 and London futures to the lowest since 2012, as traders focused on a global surplus and lackluster demand.
Some traders said they expected low bean prices, and consequently cheaper cocoa butter prices, to have spurred higher demand by chocolate makers during the quarter.
The lower data for North America followed a 9.9 increase to 160,878 tonnes in Asia during the same period, data showed on Wednesday.
In Europe, a market larger than North America and Asia combined, cocoa grindings rose 2.1 percent to 331,850 tonnes, data showed last week.
The nine companies that took part in the North American survey are: Barry Callebaut AG, Blommer Chocolate Co, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate Co, ECOM, Ghirardelli Chocolate Co, Guittard Chocolate Co, Hershey Co, Mars Chocolate North America and Nestle Chocolate & Confections.
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