LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters): New York cocoa futures on the ICE exchange recovered on Friday from near two-year lows hit in the prior session as demand weakness was seen as already priced in following data from Asia.
Cocoa
New York cocoa rose 1.2 per cent to $5,026 a metric ton at 1310 GMT, after slumping to a near two-year low of $4,839 on Thursday.
Asia's fourth-quarter cocoa grind, a measure of demand, fell 4.82 per cent from a year earlier, data showed earlier. The numbers followed a slight 0.35 per cent fourth-quarter uptick in the North American grind.
Dealers said the figures were slightly better than expected, partially offsetting Thursday's much larger than forecast 8.3 per cent decline in Europe's fourth-quarter cocoa grind, which hit a 21-year low. Even after Friday's modest recovery, dealers said the overall market tone remained bearish.
"With all the data in, it looks like global grinds in the fourth quarter were down 7 per cent. Ecuador's December exports in bean equivalent were 64,000 metric tons (up 16 per cent). None of this (price) friendly," said a dealer.
Industry newsletter CocoaRadar meanwhile noted that "supply prospects are stabilising".
London cocoa rose 1 per cent to 3,687 a ton, after losing 2.3 per cent on Thursday.
Coffee
Robusta coffee fell 0.3 per cent to $3,993 a ton, having settled 1.2 per cent higher on Thursday.
Robusta remains underpinned by lack of selling appetite in Vietnam, and by seasonal weather in the world's top coffee grower.
Arabica coffee fell 0.7 per cent to $3.5565 per lb, having closed up 0.6 per cent on Thursday.
Dealers noted signs of reduced tensions between the US and Colombia, the world's third-largest coffee producer, anecdotal reports that Brazil's crop is developing well, and expectations that ICE-exchange stocks are set to increase.
