Cocoa Prices Higher After Selling Off Last Week

Cocoa futures rose Tuesday as buying resumed following a selloff that had sent prices spiraling lower Friday.

Cocoa for March settled up 2.6% at $1,856 a ton on the ICE Futures U.S. exchange. On Friday, cocoa for March fell 5.1% to end at $1,809 a ton--the worst close for the most actively traded cocoa contract since May 3.

"I don't see much more downside--the liquidation has calmed," said Peter Mooses, senior market strategist for RJO Futures in Chicago. "We took out some lows on Friday and then it's bouncing back a little bit today."

In the longer term, lower production out of west Africa and demand that is creeping higher could lift prices, Mr. Mooses said.

"If the pods in the trees are as damaged as anticipated for next year's crop and production, we'll be back at $2,200 in no time," he said.

Nicolas Gentile, managing partner at Nick Jen Capital Management & Consulting, said Tuesday's move higher was likely a technical correction following Friday's move down.

"There's no news that's been a game changer," he said.

In other markets, raw sugar for March rose 0.68% to 14.70 cents a pound, March arabica coffee rose 1.5% to $1.222 a pound, frozen concentrated orange juice for March lost 1.51% to $1.339 a pound, and March cotton lost 0.57% to 77.43 cents a pound.

Write to Alison Sider at alison.sider@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 26, 2017 15:52 ET (20:52 GMT)