Cocoa bean prices in New York surged to their highest level since February amid reports that the American Hershey Co took an atypical move, deciding to buy beans through an exchange rather than on the physical market..
Earlier, cocoa bean producers in Ghana and Ivory Coast added a large premium to the price of their produce to boost farmer income.
While buying cocoa beans mostly takes place through private transactions, buying through an exchange gives Hershey access to cheaper supplies, saving millions of dollars, Bloomberg writes..
Cocoa bean futures for March delivery in New York jumped 2.8% to $ 2,739 a tonne, the highest for the most actively traded contract since late February..
Futures contracts are up 16% this week, the highest since the start of trading in 2019.
Meanwhile, the premium for December futures to March prices reached $ 275 this week.