A limited amount of producer selling also fuelled the support to prices, they said. "There was very good buying by the funds," said a trader.
The New York Board of Trade's active December cocoa contract climbed $42 to settle at $1,408 a tonne, after trading from $1,369 to $1,412.
It was the best settlement price for the contract since October 14.
March cocoa gained $39 to conclude at $1,445 and back month contracts advanced $36 to $39 on the day. Daily turnover was robust. Dealers estimated futures trading volume fetched 13,703 lots.
That compared with Friday's official tally of 8,347 contracts. Spread trading between the December and March contracts amounted to about 3,000 contracts, while funds bought 2,500 contracts, said a trader, adding that some of the trade guys were short and they scrambled to cover."
Meanwhile, cocoa exports from Ivory Coast have been suspended since the October 1 start of the new season because a new tax package has not been approved.
An agreement had been widely expected on Friday but was blocked by a disagreement between ministers over whether or not to suppress contributions to a prudential reserve a savings fund to guard against fluctuations in world cocoa prices.
"It's a minor disagreement and it should be straightened out this week," said an US-based cocoa importer.
The Life's benchmark December cocoa contract settled up 2.7 percent at 843 pounds a tonne.