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CSCE cocoa ends lower in first session of new year

NEW YORK: CSCE cocoa futures settled easier on Monday in a lethargic start to the new year.

Benchmark March ended off $7 at $830 a tonne after trading $846-$820. May shed the same to $856, July lost $6 to $883 and the rest slipped $8.

Bean prices started on an easier note due to light trade sales. And a number of players had not yet returned from the holiday weekend. The market was closed Friday for New Year's Eve.

"There was some origin-pressure coming out earlier in the session that set the tone earlier in the day," a trader said.

"Then once the market broke through Thursday's low on the March contract, it opened the door for speculative liquidation and that carried prices down to the $820 level," the trader added.

But volume was light and the market struggled to find any direction, especially with the London cocoa market not reopening until Tuesday.

Traders reported no problems with their computer systems from the 2000 rollover.

Technically, chartists pegged resistance for March at $859-$865 with nearby support between $820-$815.

Volume reached an estimated 3,120 lots against the previous 3,217 lots. Call volume touched 1,669 lots while put volume reached 269 lots.

The CSCE is a subsidiary of the New York Board of Trade.-Reuters