US cocoa futures rose Thursday for the second consecutive session on speculative buying, but the bulls failed to lure enough follow-through interest to push prices above the top of an 8-day trading range, traders said.
The New York Board of Trade's active December cocoa contract rose $4, or 0.3 percent, to settle at $1,392 a tonne, after trading from $1,378 to $1,408. March climbed $6 to $1,430, and back-month contracts gained $5.
The front-month contract has been dawdling between $1,353 and $1,444 since September 28. Trading volumes have been thin, with the bulk of interest dominated by speculators and independent brokers.