December ICE NY cocoa (CCZ25) on Friday closed down -17 (-0.25%), and December ICE London cocoa #7 (CAZ25) closed down -49 (-1.01%). Cocoa prices settled lower on Friday, with London cocoa posting a 2.5-month low and NY cocoa just above Tuesday's 10.75-month low. Beneficial rains in the Ivory Coast have bolstered the outlook for the region's cocoa crop, which is weighing on prices. Chocolate maker Mondelez recently said that the latest cocoa pod count in West Africa is 7% above the five-year average and "materially higher" than last year's crop. The harvest of the Ivory Coast's main crop is ex...
December arabica coffee (KCZ25) on Friday closed up +6.70 (+1.80%), and November ICE robusta coffee (RMX25) closed up +107 (+2.61%). Coffee prices settled sharply higher on Friday due to tighter inventories at the ICE coffee exchange. The 50% tariffs imposed on US imports from Brazil have led to a sharp drawdown in ICE coffee inventories, a bullish factor for coffee prices. ICE-monitored arabica inventories fell to a 1.5-year low of 576,753 bags on Friday. ICE robusta coffee inventories fell to a 1.75-month low of 6,464 lots last Friday. American buyers are voiding new contracts for purchases ...
Slovakia's parliament passed an amendment to the constitution on Friday that recognises only two sexes, along with other measures that critics say might breach the country’s international obligations and undermine the protection of human rights. The amendment, which was drafted by Prime Minister Robert Fico's government, required a three-fifths majority. It passed with 90 votes in the 150-seat National Council, with 12 lawmakers from the conservative opposition helping the ruling coalition win the vote. The amended constitution now recognises only two sexes, male and female, and states that Sl...