Cocoa futures rose to a 29-month high as speculation mounted that surging demand will outstrip supplies of the beans used to make chocolate. Valentine’s Day candy sales in the U.S. will rise 1.9 percent to $1.057 billion from a year earlier, the highest since at least 2009. Cocoa for May delivery jumped 1.5 percent to settle at $2,971 a metric ton at 12:03 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. Earlier, the price reached $2,974, the highest for a most-active contract since Sept. 7, 2011. Source