Bitcoin prices surge to a six-month high, after 35% gain this month

Bitcoin prices jumped today to its highest in six months, pulling smaller cryptocurrencies up with it in a move that traders and analysts ascribed to technical forces with no apparent news catalysts at play.

Bitcoin, the biggest virtual coin, climbed as much as 4.5% in early trading to top $5,600 briefly, touching its highest since November 18.

Other major cryptocurrencies that tend be correlated to bitcoin such as ethereum and Ripple's XRP also gained.

Bitcoin was last up 3.1%. It has gained more than 35% in April, due largely to a 20% jump that caused puzzlement among traders and underscored flaws in cryptocurrency markets.