US cocoa futures prices closed higher Wednesday after trade buying reversed early losses from speculative selling, traders said. The New York Board of Trade's bellwether cocoa contract for December delivery gained $9, or 0.6 percent, to finish at $1,549 a tonne, near the upper end of a $1,512 to $1,552 trading range.
Among other contracts, March concluded $7 higher on the day at $1,580 a tonne, and back month contracts advanced $6 to $8.
Estimated trading volume in NYBOT cocoa fetched 9,426 contracts, above the 8,990 lots officially tallied the previous session.