Cocoa soars as Reuters reports disappointing harvest

Cocoa prices hit their highest level in nearly a quarter century on Oct. 5 after Reuters reported official figures showing top world supplier Ivory Coast’s 2008-09 harvest ended down 14 percent from the previous year, and exporter estimates for the first week of the new season that signaled ongoing production issues in the war-scarred West African nation. Traders in the New York and London cocoa markets cited the Reuters coverage as a trigger for the price spike, and an analyst at broker Newedge released a research note on Oct. 6 that mentioned the Reuters stories.