Cocoa climbs as Ivorian rebels capture Daloa
news.ft.com
By Adrienne Roberts
Published: October 14 2002 19:47 | Last Updated: October 14 2002 19:47
Cocoa futures resumed their climb on Monday after rebels in Ivory Coast captured the key cocoa centre of Daloa over the weekend.
"The situation is scaring me a bit," said the head of a European cocoa trading company. "I think a political solution will have to be found eventually, but in the meantime this disrupts both distribution and harvesting."
The Ivorian harvest has just started, but thousands of immigrants, who play a large role in cocoa picking, have been forced to flee because of growing ethnic tension. So far, farmers are estimated to have harvested only about half the volume picked by this time last year.
Traders estimate that the capture of Daloa could block about a third of Ivorian output. In 2000/01 Ivorian cocoa accounted for 42 per cent of world production.
Liffe December futures gained £20 to close at £1,613 a tonne after an earlier high of £1,636. The January contract gained £14, settling at £1,620 a tonne.
Gold firmed slightly in the wake of the weekend bombings in the Indonesian tourist island of Bali.
The metal was at £317.75 an ounce at the London afternoon fixing, compared with Friday afternoon's fixing of $316.85 an ounce.
Platinum remained supported by high lease rates for the white metal. But a public holiday in Japan meant the Tocom market, where the worst of the squeeze is being experienced, was closed. The metal fixed at $589 an ounce, compared with $592 on Friday.
Crude oil futures were not much moved by the bombings in Bali, but worries about a storm front in the Caribbean kept prices supported. In late London trading November Brent was up 48 cents at $28.47 a barrel. By early afternoon in New York, Nymex WTI was 71 cents higher at $30.08. |
