Cocoa slips back slightly by close

LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Light origin selling and spread activity drove London cocoa prices lower on Thursday, with speculators on both sides of the market, dealers said.

Manufacturer interest, especially in the forward months, underpinned prices at the lows, although the market remained vulnerable to fund and speculative liquidation.

Benchmark March lost three pounds to end at 1,454 pounds a tonne on 1,039 lots out of a total turnover of 2,586.

March moved between 1,469 and 1,447, giving up some of the gains gathered in its sharp rise on Wednesday and still keeping the same range of the past two weeks.

Most active May ended one pound down at 1,459 a tonne on 1,227 lots, having moved in a 1,473-1,451 range.

The March/May spread widened to a four pound discount, from around a two pound premium in the previous session.

Dealers said the market was still seeking direction, and thin volume paved the way for price volatility.

"Tensions in Ivory Coast are enough to keep the market holding relatively steady and I think the market will continue to hold because manufacturers have some difficulty maintaining cover at the moment," a dealer said.

"There is not so much selling," he added.

Ivory Coast rebels will meet the country's new prime minister in Ghana on Friday as efforts are made to save a faltering French-brokered peace deal and prevent a return to all-out war.

Traders said arrival figures at Ivorian ports looked better than expected despite months of fighting in the former French colony.

"The problem that people have is more in the future rather than the current arrivals," a dealer said.