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Cocoa surges on speculative buying

NEW YORK: CSCE cocoa settled sharply higher across the board Thursday, as speculators were seen covering short positions and taking fresh long positions, dealers said. Dealers said the trade were scale-up sellers.

July ended up $26 a tonne at $1,360, traded between $1,364 and $1,338. Nearby May cocoa settled $26 higher at $1,339, after ranging between $1,342 and $1,318. The remaining months closed $23 to $28 higher.

One trader said that the market looked positive fundamentally after strong European first quarter grinds, which indicated good demand. Traders await the U.S. cocoa grind figures due April 19.

The cocoa market also recieved a boost from the Knight Ridder-Commodity Research Bureau index as it continued to climb higher, reaching fresh eight year highs Thursday.

Volume reached an estimated 9,479 lots, down from Wednesday's official volume of 9,880.-Reuter