(Bloomberg) -- Cocoa futures surged on renewed supply fears as concerns over crops in West Africa persist, resuming a rally that has made the chocolate ingredient one of the hottest commodities of the year.
The most-active cocoa contract in New York climbed as much as 14%, the biggest intraday jump since May. Futures partly offset losses from last week, when market players were seen taking profits on the back of the record high prices. London cocoa gained as much as 14%.
In the world’s top producer Ivory Coast, farmers reported that cocoa trees are beginning to suffer the effects of the dry and dusty Harmattan winds, with leaves turning yellow and the cherelles, or young pods, withering. Cocoa bean supplies at exchange certified stockpiles continued to dwindle.
In other agricultural markets, soybeans climbed as much as 1.5% before erasing gains. While there are worries that dry weather in Argentina and the south of Brazil may put a strain on crops, soil moistures are fine and minimal crop stress remains to date, said Matt Ammermann, a commodity risk manager at StoneX.
US export data helped support prices, with a Monday report from the US Department of Agriculture showing sales of 23,000 metric tons of soybean oil for delivery to India in the 2024-25 marketing year. That would bring outstanding sales to about 114,000 metric tons, the most since 2009, USDA data shows.
“US bean oil continues to be the cheapest vegoil globally,” Ammermann added.
--With assistance from Michael Hirtzer and Isis Almeida.
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