July ICE NY cocoa (CCN26) on Thursday closed down -107 (-2.63%), and July ICE London cocoa #7 (CAN26) closed down -68 (-2.21%). Chocolate demand concerns are weighing on cocoa prices after Barry Callebaut, the world’s seventh-largest chocolate maker by revenue, provided updated guidance this week that suggests a slower recovery in sales volumes than previously assumed.
Cocoa prices are also under pressure from rising inventories. ICE cocoa inventories rose to a 1.75-year high of 2,913,278 bags on Wednesday.