US MIDDAY: coffee and cocoa up

ICE arabica coffee futures rose over 2 percent early on Thursday on severely dry weather in top grower Brazil, while cocoa gained ground on speculative short-covering, traders said. "Specs and locals are buying, funds very little," one coffee trader said.
On the electronic platform, ICE December coffee was up 3.20 cents or 2.4 percent at $1.3660 per lb at 9:15 am EDT (1315 GMT), with trades spanning $1.34 to $1.3725. The rest ranged up 3.10 to 3.55 cents. Cocoa futures were mostly firm in thin dealings, traders said. On the screen, ICE December cocoa was up $6 at $1,841 per tonne at 9:13 am, moving from $1,830 to $1,858. The rest ranged from $12 higher to $1 lower.