London cocoa futures settled higher on Friday after a sharp surge in the New York market sent local and speculative participants rushing to cover their short positions, dealers said.
Front-month December retreated from the earlier high of 841 pounds a tonne to close 14 pounds stronger at 824.
The day's low was 808 while turnover on the most-active contract reached 7,154 lots from a total of 9,560.
March advanced 13 pounds to finish at 848 on volume of 1,638 lots within an 833-862 range.
An analyst attributed the rally to a realisation among some players that a recent sell-off on expectations of origin hedging had been premature.
"The hedging has not materialised quite as quickly as expected," he said.
A trader dismissed fears about recent unrest in the West African country, saying that it was unlikely to disrupt supplies because it was in the rebels' interest to sell cocoa grown in their territory.
At least 1,000 protestors stormed a UN military base in Ivory Coast's rebel-held north late on Thursday, angered by talk the international troops may start forcibly disarming rebels.
COFFEE FLAT: London robusta coffee closed level on Friday as players concentrated on structural trade in the absence of fundamental news, dealers said.
The imminent start of Vietnam's new crop season has also sidelines many players.
Front-month LIFFE November closed at $616 a tonne after losing $1 and trading between $612 and $621 on volume of 2,185 lots from a total of 5,938.
"Robusta isn't attracting much attention at the moment, with Vietnam's crop looming large," said one trader.
Volume was boosted by funds rolling forward contracts from November to January, dealers noted.
January also finished $1 lower at $634 a tonne following a $631-639 range and turnover of 2,341 lots.
There is little fundamental news to support robusta prices, with analysts estimating ample robusta production of about 42 million bag for 2003/04.
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