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Cocoa Rises for Third Session on Demand From Food Manufacturers

Chicago, 7 April 2008 (Bloomberg.com) by Shruti Date Singh

Cocoa rose for the third straight session on demand from food manufacturers after prices slumped early this month.

On April 2, cocoa futures touched the lowest since Jan. 29. The price will remain ``volatile'' in the second half, said Patrick De Maeseneire, chief executive officer of Barry Callebaut AG, the world's biggest bulk-chocolate maker. Callebaut's shares tumbled after profit in the six months ended Feb. 29 trailed analysts' estimates.

Food makers ``are buying up on the breaks,'' said Adam Klopfenstein, a senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock in Chicago, a unit of MF Global. ``They feel this is a price that is more rational.''

Cocoa futures for July delivery advanced $53, or 2.3 percent, to $2,352 a metric ton at 11:49 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S., the former New York Board of Trade. Futures fell 7.9 percent in the four sessions ended April 2.

Before today, the price gained 21 percent in the past year amid forecasts demand will exceed supplies this year and a surge in investor demand for agricultural commodities.

Worldwide consumption will probably outpace output by 5,000 tons this year, Fortis Bank SA/NV and VM Group said in a March forecast.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shruti Date Singh in Chicago at ssingh28@bloomberg.net.

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