(Bloomberg) – Cocoa futures rose to a seven-week high on speculation that supplies will be limited from Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest producer. Sugar, cotton, orange juice and coffee gained.
On March 29, Ivory Coast lowered by 3.6 percent the minimum guaranteed price that farmers will get for the mid-crop harvest that starts today, saying the shorter season usually results in smaller beans. From Oct. 1 to March 24, bean deliveries to Ivorian ports slid 1.3 percent, Commodities Risk Analysis in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, said on March 27.
“This season’s mid-crop production is expected to produce lower quality beans,” and “port arrivals have been running behind schedule,” John Caruso, a senior commodity broker at RJO Futures in Chicago, said in an e-mail.
Cocoa for May delivery increased 0.5 percent to $2,181 a metric ton at 10:26 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Earlier, the commodity reached $2,198, the highest for a most-active contract since Feb. 11.
Raw-sugar futures for May delivery rose 0.4 percent to 17.73 cents a pound on ICE.
Cotton futures for May delivery advanced 0.3 percent to 88.74 cents a pound.
Orange-juice futures for May delivery climbed 0.1 percent to $1.353 a pound.
Arabica-coffee futures for May delivery gained 0.1 percent to $1.366 a pound. Earlier, the price reached $1.4135, the highest since March 14.
ICE was closed on March 29 for the Good Friday holiday.
