May ICE NY cocoa (CCK24) on Thursday closed down -62 (-0.65%), and May ICE London cocoa #7 (CAK24) closed down -130 (-1.65%).
Cocoa prices Thursday retreated for a second day and posted 1-1/2 week lows. Long liquidation in cocoa emerged Wednesday and continued Thursday after the Ivory Coast government increased farm-gate prices for cocoa producers by 50% for mid-crop beans, and Bloomberg reported that Ghana is considering a similar move. The government's hike in the prices it pays to cocoa farmers should encourage growers hoarding cocoa to deliver more beans to market, which could temporarily ease tight supplies.
