US cocoa futures settled higher for the third straight day on Thursday, on a technical bounce following a sell-off that pulled prices off nearly four-year highs in mid-April, traders said.
"We're just retracing the losses we've seen here in the last week. We're finding some support at the $1,850 level, basis July, and there's really not much news right now in this market," one trader said.
New York Board of Trade benchmark July contract rose $24 to close at $1,879 per tonne, with trades spanning from $1,850 to $1,883. September futures settled $22 higher at $1,903, while the rest ended from $20 to $21 higher.
Cocoa futures opened higher on light follow-through buying by funds and speculators, with resistance seen around $1,900 in the benchmark July contract. A technical gap sits above this level between $1,910 and $1,943.
"We need to get above that $1,900 level before we even talk about gaps getting filled," one broker said, looking for an indicator that could take prices higher.
On the IntercontinenalExchange NYBOT electronic platform at 12:55 pm, the July contract was $29 higher at $1,884. The rest ranged widely from $2 to $27 higher. Electronic trading ends at 3:15 pm. Cocoa futures in London ended higher following brisk options-related trade.
The Liffe benchmark July contracts up 2.3 percent or 22 pounds at 1,030 pounds a tonne, in dealings from 1,004 pounds to 1,033 pounds. NYBOT estimated open-outcry volume around noon at 1,531 lots, compared with the total 8,410 lots on Wednesday when 6,764 of these traded electronically.
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