NYBOT cocoa futures rose about five percent on Thursday as speculators moved on technical signals and lingering concerns about dry weather in West Africa, traders and analysts said.
"There is spec buying out there and there is talk that the dry weather has shifted from the Ivory Coast to Ghana now, and that's why we are seeing this rally," one trader said.
Benchmark December cocoa settled up $82, or 4.97 percent, at $1,731 a tonne. The contract low was $1,695 before smashing through technical resistance at $1,700 and soaring to $1,750, the highest level since August 4.
Since Tuesday, the December contract has surged $181 from its lowest trade to today's highest trade.
Spot September jumped $90 to settle at $1,698 after trading in a range of $1,650 to $1,717. Longer-dated contracts settled $77 to $83 higher from Wednesday.