US MIDDAY: cocoa soars and coffee strong

Price levels for the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) coffee, sugar and cocoa markets:
CSCE COFFEE: March arabica coffee was trading 1.25 cents higher at 69.85 cents per lb. at 1025 EST (1525 GMT), moving from 68 to 70.20 cents as commodity funds buying again and option players busy, floor sources said.
Traded volume was 3,520 lots at 1000 EST (1500 GMT).
CSCE SUGAR: March sugar climbs 0.14 cent to 5.84 cents a lb at 1030 EST (1530 GMT), edging the range up to 5.73-5.88 cents. Traders said the lows hit at the end of 2003 may have been overdone. Some players were seen covering short positions as sugar extended its gains.
Volume reached some 7,839 lots by 1000 EST.
CSCE COCOA: March cocoa soars sharply on speculative buying following reports of fresh violence in top producer Ivory Coast, floor brokers said.
March is up $88 to $1,562 a tonne at 1024 EST (1524 GMT) with a $1,498-$1,580 range.
Brokers said resistance levels were broken and funds rushed to cover shorts or do additional buying. The traded volume was about 5,893 lots at 1000 EST.