New Cocoa-Pricing Method Makes for a Hot Commodity

Cocoa prices are surging as traders grapple with a new method for pricing exports designed to alleviate poverty among farmers in Ivory Coast and Ghana, the world’s largest growers of the chocolate ingredient. At a time when weakness in the world economy is hurting assets such as oil and industrial metals, cocoa has been one of the top performers in commodities markets. Futures prices have climbed 18% to £1,912 ($2,335) a ton in London since Aug. 29, and have risen 10% to $2,408 a ton in New York. Prices were even higher in both markets before slipping back in recent days.