CIJENE KAKAA NA BURZI U NEW YORK-U

CIJENE KAKAA NA BURZI U NEW YORK-U SAD - KAKAO Trgovačke spot cijene 09. veljače 1998. minimalne količine u vagonima, cijene u am. dolarima po toni posljednja Ghana Maincrop 1719.00 N Ivory Maincrop Maincrop 1682.00 N Bahia superior Superior 1697.00 N Sanchez FAQ FAQ 1569.00 N Sulwaesi SAQ FAQ 1551.00 N Arriba Superior Superior 1734.00 N Malaysia 110 1556.00 N Liquor Ecuador 2462.00 N Liquor Brazil 2482.00 N Maslac African 3951.00 N Maslac drugi 3951.00 N Natural Cake 10/12% 602.00 N NEW YORK - Kakao cijene pri zatvaranju burze 09. veljače 1998. MJE POSLJ OTVA NAJ NAJ ZATVA NAGO EDNJA RANJE VIŠA NIŽA RANJE DBE MAR8 1505 1533 1546 1501 1503 1504 MAY8 1544 1573 1582 1541 1541 1544 JUL8 1575 1606 1609 1573 1575 1575 SEP8 1599 1635 1638 1598 1599 1600 DEC8 1633 1657 1660 1630 1633 1633 MAR9 1662 1685 1675 1662 1662 1662 MAY9 1680 1680 JUL9 1697 1697 SEP9 1711 1711 DEC9 1742 1742 CSCE cocoa ends at 8-mth low on heavy fund selling NEW YORK, Feb 9 (Reuters) - CSCE cocoa futures ended sharply lower, plunging to their lowest level in eight months as funds and speculators hit the market early and hard ahead of the beginning of the March delivery period Friday. Fundamental analysts continue to assert that the large expected 1997/98 crop will put pressure on prices, and the technicians are pointing to the next target of support at $1,526 a tonne. The active May contract settled at $1,544 a tonne, down $47 a tonne, trading between $1,541 to $1,582 a tonne, while the nearby March contract fell $47 to close at $1,504 a tonne. "The market continues to look bearish in the face of a strong outlook in the coming year," said Judith Gaines, an analyst with Merrill Lynch & Co. "The speculators just keep hitting this market." The Ivory Coast's Caistab cocoa board raised its 1997/98 crop estimate by 100,000 tonnes to 1.1 million tonne, still below industry analysts' estimates at 1.15 million to 1.25 million tonnes. And with the manufacturers on the sidelines, analysts see little cause for a rebound. "When the market falls this fast, the manufactuers just step aside," Gaines said. "When they're not around to provide support for the market, you have to conclude that the market has further to fall." The bulk of the selling came from the funds, looking to liquidate their positions ahead of first notice day on Friday, commission house brokers said. The March-May spread popped $4 in the last three sessions to a life-of-contract high of $39, indicating the increasing cost of rolling March longs into May. The fund activity wasn't limited to roll-overs. "We also saw some fresh fund selling in the May," one trader said. "They came in waves at $1,565 and $1,559 (in the May contract) as stops got triggered. You can see by the way total open interest is creeping up that a lot of the recent selling is fresh." Friday's open interest increased 691 lots. On the bullish side of the market, Ghana purchases came in 850 tonnes ahead of last year's corresponding number, totaling 16,464 tonnes in the week ending January 22. "It was a decent number of purchases," said one broker. "But not enough to overcome the realization that we're looking at a super crop for (1997/98)." The next level of support in the May contract is the gap between $1,535 and $1,526 a tonne. On the upside, near-term resistance was pegged at $1,573 a tonne. A 38.2 percent retracement of the downward move that began with the January 27 high of $1,682 a tonne would be $1,595. "You could argue that we're oversold and we're due for a correction," said one trader. "But this market fell too fast. I would expect to see some follow-through tomorrow morning." On the other hand, chartists noted that the 14-day relative strength indicator was trending upward from November 28, diverging from the market, which has fallen precipitously since December 15. 101348 MET feb 98