US MIDDAY: coffee climbs

Arabica coffee futures surged to close at the highest level in 13-1/2 years on Wednesday, on heavy spreading and fund buying. Raw sugar reversed and also closed positive while US cocoa climbed on March/May spreads. The March raw sugar contract rose 0.34 cent or by 1.1 percent to end at 31.50 cents per lb, moving in a wide range from 30.43 to 31.93 cents.
March arabica coffee futures jumped 6 cents or 2.4 percent to close at $2.5360 per lb, the highest settlement for the spot contract since June 1997. Benchmark May cocoa futures gained $23 to close at $3,283 per tonne.