The contract hit a low of 849 in earlier trade and accounted for 7,435 lots out of the 13,444 total.
"There's some technical driven buying...Trade have been selling, taking profit," a trader said.
New York benchmark cocoa prices rallied to a six-week contract high amid speculative and fund buying on Wednesday. The New York Board of Trade's March jumped 2.6 percent to $1,602 a tonne.
London's July shifted 1,906 lots before ending up 1.9 percent at 904 pounds a tonne. September's settlement price was 923, 1.8 percent higher, after volume of 1,742 lots.
Ivory Coast's declared cocoa exports in the first four months of the 2004/05 season were higher than in the same period of the previous year, according to a source at the country's Coffee and Cocoa Bourse.
"They may have revised the figures but arrivals are still behind last year's. Some people are talking about a good tail end of the crop, which would help narrow the gap," a physical dealer said.
Leading exporters in Ivory Coast said they were shipping stocks as swiftly as possible because they feared another bout of violence in the West African country.
Turmoil in Ivory Coast sent London benchmark prices to a 13-month continuation high of 1,021 pounds in mid-November.
COFFEE SPECULATIVE BUYING: Liffe coffee futures rallied on Wednesday after fund and speculative buying boosted prices and a lack of producer selling provided support, traders said.
"We had a lot of funds (buying) the whole day," one dealer said.
Liffe's benchmark March rose $15 to close at $781 a tonne after turning over 7,237 lots in a $785-772 band. The last time coffee futures reached the highs of $785 was December 30.
Most-traded May banked $15 before settling at $806 on 8,900 lots out of a total of 20,544.
Analysts and traders said scarce origin selling helped to firm prices.
"They have stepped back from the market today and that has allowed prices to go higher," Andrea Thompson, analyst for CoffeeNetwork, said of the lack of producer selling.
By 1723 GMT NYBOT benchmark March arabica was down 0.55 cents at 105.25 cents per lb.