US cocoa futures edged higher Wednesday on light industry buying and market players taking advantage of a weak dollar against sterling, traders said. Market talk about a large fund selling 3,000 to 4,000 contracts made some speculative players nervous but failed to ignite a sell-off.
"The fact that the market is finishing on the plus side is constructive. That tells you that there is very good industry buying in the market," one trader said.
Most-active December cocoa rose $7 to settle at $1,460 a tonne on the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), after dealing from $1,453 to $1,470 in narrow range-bound trading. March 2005 likewise gained $7 to $1,480 and distant months ended flat to up $7.