New York cocoa soars

US cocoa futures surged 3.6 percent to close at a fresh 2-1/2-week high on Thursday, on a technical bounce and on support from London's strong market, uncontested by origin selling, traders said.
"The market's inability to break down any further gave it some support. There's still some concern about fundamentals in the near term driving this market a bit on the upper side," one trader said.
The New York Board of Trade spot-month July contract jumped $66 to settle near the session's high at $1,903, trading widely from $1,847 to $1,905. Benchmark September futures soared 3.6 percent, or $67 to $1,932, moving from $1,875 to $1,935, a high dating back to May 29.
The rest ended from $64 to $66 higher. The September contract trading on the Intercontinental Exchange NYBOT electronic platform was $71 higher at $1,936, at 1:01 pm EDT (1701 GMT), while the rest ranged from $67 to $70 higher. Electronic trading ends at 3:15 pm.
Cocoa futures in London closed up sharply at the session's peak with Liffe's September cocoa futures contract closing 41 pounds higher at 1,069 pounds, after trading as low as 1,027.
At NYBOT, the second-month contract fell 8 percent from its highest trade May 24, when it came close to reaching a near four-year peak hit in mid-April, to its lowest trade June 8. Deals then turned sideways earlier this week until it surged Thursday, when trade, speculative and commission house buying buoyed prices and triggered buy-stops, dealers said.
The July/September spreads also continued to boost volume ahead of the front-month's first notice day on June 18, they said. "I think the market may take another run to the upside. The issue here is where are you going to get the selling from and I'm not sure that there is a lot of organised selling at the moment," one broker said.
NYBOT estimated open-outcry volume around noon at 4,670 lots, compared with the 4,627 contracts that traded in open-outcry on Wednesday, when 17,017 contracts traded on the ICE electronic platform.
Open interest decreased 3,005 lots to 140,982 as of June 13. Overseas, grinders in Asia are breathing a sigh of relief as the main crop gathers pace in Indonesia's island of Sulawesi, raising hopes the much-needed good quality beans are on their way.