
March ICE NY cocoa (CCH25) Thursday closed up +452 (+4.81%), and March ICE London cocoa #7 (CAH25) closed up +280 (+3.70%).
Cocoa prices Thursday settled sharply higher, with Mar NY cocoa and Mar London cocoa posting contract highs. Also, nearest-futures (Z24) NY cocoa posted a 2-3/4 month high, and nearest-futures (Z24) London cocoa posted a 4-1/2 month high. Cocoa prices are soaring after weather forecaster Maxar Technologies said Wednesday that dry conditions in West Africa would help the current harvest of the main cocoa crop but will hurt the early development of the mid-year cocoa crop harvested in April.