
December ICE NY cocoa (CCZ25) on Friday closed down -17 (-0.25%), and December ICE London cocoa #7 (CAZ25) closed down -49 (-1.01%).
Cocoa prices settled lower on Friday, with London cocoa posting a 2.5-month low and NY cocoa just above Tuesday's 10.75-month low. Beneficial rains in the Ivory Coast have bolstered the outlook for the region's cocoa crop, which is weighing on prices. Chocolate maker Mondelez recently said that the latest cocoa pod count in West Africa is 7% above the five-year average and "materially higher" than last year's crop. The harvest of the Ivory Coast's main crop is expected to begin next month, and farmers are optimistic about the quality of the crop.