Cocoa slips to 4-month low of £6,110/ton

Cocoa futures on the ICE exchange hit four-month lows on Friday and headed for 3% losses for the week, amid a large increase in ICE-certified stocks and benign weather forecasts for West Africa.

London cocoa fell 3.6% to 6,110 pounds per metric ton at 1259 GMT. Dealers noted ICE-certified stocks have shot up to their highest since early January ahead of the expiry of the front month cocoa contract later this session. They added that weather reports for Ivory Coast, Ghana and parts of southern Nigeria are favourable for the next ten days, with a pickup in downpours towards the end of the period.

New York cocoa fell 3.7% to $7,879 a ton. Arabica coffee fell 1.4% at $3.8045 per lb. Robusta coffee fell 1.1% to $5,466 a ton.