March 30, 2011 -- Cocoa declined to the lowest level in 2 1/2 months in Liffe on speculation supplies from the Ivory Coast.
Local fighters that's loyal to Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognized winner of the West African nation's Nov. 28 presidential election, moved closer to the commercial capital, Abidjan, where beans are exported.
They have handed at least five towns this week and moved to within 240 kilometers (149 miles) of Abidjan, said Meite Sindou, spokesman for Ouattara's prime minister and defense minister, Guillaume Soro.
Some sources said that Ouattara's supporters have taken over control of half of the cocoa growing regions.
"This has led to speculation that cocoa shipments from Ivory Coast could resume again soon." Commerzbank AG analyst Carsten Fritsch said in a report today.
Cocoa for May delivery slid 32 pounds, or 0.7 percent, to 1,965 pounds on NYSE Liffe in London. In New York, cocoa for May delivery fell $ 54 to $3,000
Ouattara's supporters have stepped up their military campaign in the past month, mainly in the western cocoa- producing region, taking the towns of Duekoue, Guiglo and Daloa in the past few days, Sindou said. Duekoue sits on a north-south transit corridor linking the west with the port of San Pedro.
Cocoa Supplies
Cocoa prices in London and New York had moved up sharply as Quattara imposed an export ban on Jan. 24 in a bid to cut off funds for incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo. But the prices back to decline as political issues in Ivory.
"If the situation normalizes, we believe that prices will likely decline strongly given this year's large West African production, which points to a market in surplus for the 2010-11 crop year," Goldman Sachs said in a report yesterday.
Cocoa production will exceed demand by 119,000 tons in the 2010-11 season that started Oct. 1, the International Cocoa Organization said March 1.------
