Cocoa Rises to 1-Year High as Ivory Coast May Extend Ban Order
Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognized winner of Ivory Coast's Nov. 28 election, pledged to extend the ban should incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo not step down before the restriction was set to end on Feb. 23, the Financial Times reported, citing an interview. The ban was imposed Jan. 23 in a bid to cut off funds for Gbagbo.
"The threat by Alassane Ouattara to extend the export ban on Ivory Coast's cocoa is a sign of his exasperation that nothing has moved in the political arena," Gary Mead, an analyst at VM Group in London said in an e-mail. "He's keeping the pressure up."
Cocoa for May delivery rose $47 a metric ton, or 1.4 percent, to $3,418 a metric ton by 8:06 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York and earlier today rose to $3,444, the highest price since Jan. 21, 2010. Cocoa for March delivery gained 29 pounds, or 1.3 percent, to 2,252 pounds ($3,603) a ton on NYSE Liffe in London.
Ivory Coast cocoa beans may be getting out of the country even in the face of the exports ban, VM Group's Mead said. "Everyone knows that if Ivory Coast's ports are not shipping cocoa, then Ghana's will be. The cross-border smuggling right now appears to be quite substantial."
Arabica coffee for May delivery rose 0.50 cent, or 0.2 percent, to $2.5545 a pound in New York. Robusta coffee for May delivery fell $2 to $2,253 a ton in London.
Raw sugar for May delivery dropped 0.2 cent, or 0.7 percent, to 29.20 cents a pound in New York. White, or refined, sugar for May delivery fell $6.80 a ton, or 0.9 percent, to $749.40 a ton on NYSE Liffe.
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.
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