Traders called it to open two pounds up.

"We need to see a close above 1,030 for the outlook to improve," said Maeve Purcell, technical analyst at Sucden.

December cocoa closed on Friday at 1,000 stg a tonne after touching its lowest-ever price of 990 stg during the day and having repeatedly failed in attempts to rally above 1,020 in the last three weeks.

Purcell saw near-term resistance at 1,010 and 1,014.

New York ended weaker in light trade on Friday but trade buying and local shortcovering lifted it off intraday lows.

The latest CFTC Commitment of Traders report issued after close of business on Friday showed speculators (non-commercials and non-reportables) net short 9,239 lots as of October 6, little changed from a net short position of 9,197 lots two weeks earlier.

Some traders said the market might get a boost from thefigures, which followed expectations of a modest reduction in the net speculative short position. Others said the figures simply reflected a lack of large speculative interest in cocoa at present due to its rangebound situation.

Weather Services Corporation forecast scattered showers and thunderstorms across West Africa, which was favourable for crop development.

The 12-member alliance of cocoa producing countries COPAL begins a nine-day meeting in Cameroon on Monday to discuss the impact of liberalisation of the world market.