US cocoa futures climbed 1.1 percent to a four-week high on Wednesday, buoyed by speculators taking precaution against possible unrest in top cocoa producer Ivory Coast this forthcoming weekend, traders said.
Ivories President Laurent Gbagbo's constitutional term formally ends on Sunday, but elections originally scheduled to be held on that day will not take place.
Market players are worried about the prospects of delivery disruptions should a renewed confrontation break out between the government-controlled south and rebels who have held the northern half of the country since a 2002 civil war.
"Everyone is waiting to hear news from Ivory Coast. I think people are concerned that something can happen this weekend," said a trader.
The New York Board of Trade's active December cocoa contract rose $15 to end at $1,418 a tonne, after trading from $1,395 to $1,423.
It was the highest settlement for the December contract since September 29. March cocoa advanced $16 to end at $1,457 and back month contracts climbed $16 to $18.
In London, Life's benchmark December cocoa contract concluded up about 1.1 percent at 843 pounds a tonne, just one pound shy of the top of an 827-843 trading range.
Meanwhile, Ivory Coast has started to register for export around 120,000 tonnes of cocoa that had accumulated at ports because of a delay by the government in setting taxes, exporters told Reuters in Abidjan.
The government published a new set of cocoa taxes and levies for the 2005/06 season late on Monday, paving the way for exports to resume.
NYBOT cocoa futures trading volume reached an estimated 15,008 contracts, well above the previous session's official tally of 6,898 lots.