Raw sugar futures hit 19-month high on Brazil rain forecast

LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) — Raw sugar futures on ICE rose to a 19-month high on Tuesday with more rain forecast in top producer Brazil while cocoa prices fell back slightly after recent strong gains. Sugar Raw sugar rose 0.1% to 20.75 cents per lb by 1100 GMT, after setting a 19-month high of 20.90 cents Dealers said more rain is expected in Brazil during the next couple of weeks, delaying cane crushing and potentially driving down sugar production in the Centre-South region below 38 million metric tons The outlook has steadily diminished in recent weeks with a Reuters poll issued in late July having a consensus forecast of 40 million tons They noted, however, demand in the physical market was weak with some believing the run-up in prices had been overdone White sugar gained 0.6% to $551 a metric ton, having hit its highest since late August at $553 Germany's refined sugar production from beets in the new 2026/27 season is forecast to fall to an estimated 3.330 million metric tons from 4.421 million tons last season, Germany's sugar industry association WVZ said on Tuesday Cocoa London cocoa fell 1.2% to £4,329 per ton Dealers said the market has risen sharply in recent days from a low of £3,805 on October 1 to a peak of £4,428 on Monday so a modest setback was not unexpected They noted third-quarter grinding statistics should provide a focus in coming days with data for Europe and North America scheduled to be issued on October 15 New York cocoa lost 1% to $5,807 a ton Coffee Arabica coffee rose 0.4% to $2.9360 per lb Dealers said rains in Brazil had led to some concerns about the quality of this year's harvest in the world's top grower They also noted exchange stocks remained low Robusta coffee fell 0.03% to $3,527 a ton (Reporting by Nigel Hunt; Editing by Joyjeet Das) ((nigel.hunt@thomsonreuters.com; +44 (0) 7990 561421; Reuters Messaging: nigel.hunt.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)