December ICE NY cocoa (CCZ25) on Friday closed down -96 (-1.60%), and December ICE London cocoa #7 (CAZ25) closed down -92 (-2.19%).
Cocoa prices fell from 1-week highs on Friday and settled sharply lower on signs of weak global cocoa demand. The Cocoa Association of Asia reported that Q3 Asia cocoa grindings fell -17% y/y to 183,413, the smallest grindings for a Q3 in 9 years. On Thursday, the European Cocoa Association reported that Q3 European cocoa grindings fell -4.8% y/y to 337,353 MT, the lowest for a third quarter in 10 years. However, the National Confectioners Association reported that Q3 North American coca grindings rose +3.2% y/y to 112,784 MT. The bullish aspects of the Q3 North American grindings report were negated, however, after the addition of new reporting companies to the report skewed the data.
