New York benchmark cocoa futures rose 3.5 percent to near a 3-week high Friday, buoyed by fund and speculative buying and limited producer selling, traders said. On the New York Board of Trade, the most-active March cocoa contract rose $58 to settle at $1,710 a tonne, the highest closing price since $1,753 on November 15.
Technical stop-loss buying kicked in after the benchmark broke above key resistance at $1,677, pushing the March delivery to a session high $1,714 before falling back somewhat, dealers said.