New York cocoa futures sagged Thursday as speculators took profits following a gain in benchmark prices of more than 5 percent over the past two sessions, traders said. At the New York Board of Trade, March contract declined $9 to settle at $1,594 a tonne, after dealing from $1,580 to a fresh seven-week high $1,609. The May contract was at $1,599, also off $9 on the day, while deferred deliveries flagged $10 to $12.

On Wednesday, open interest in cocoa futures was 114,787 lots, down 257 contracts from the previous session. Arbitrage trading between New York and London was active late in the session due to a shift in the value of the dollar versus sterling, traders said.

Early in the session, the pound had risen half a cent against the dollar but reversed course as the greenback staged a broad rally later. London's front-month March contract eased 7 pounds to settle at 865 pounds per tonne.

Copyright Reuters, 2005