SOFTS — Raw sugar prices jump on El Nino weather concerns

(Adds comments and closing prices) NEW YORK, Oct 12 (Reuters) — Raw sugar futures on ICE rose sharply on Monday, heading back towards a 19-month peak hit last week, on worries over excess El Nino-linked rains in top grower Brazil, while coffee and cocoa also gained. It was a national holiday in Brazil on Monday, so coffee and sugar selling activity from the country was subdued. Sugar Raw sugar ​settled up 0.6 cent, or 3%, at 20.85 cents per lb, having touched 21.24 cents last Wednesday. Analyst Green Pool said record El Nino-linked rains in September and more expected in October are a "stark reminder of how dependent the market is on Brazilian output and exports". There have been reports of waterlogged cane in Brazil. At the same time, the sugar outlook beyond Brazil is worsening, including in key growers India and the European Union. S&P Global Energy expects Brazil sugar production in the second half of September to have fallen 14% yean-on-year to 2.7 million tons. The United States Department of Agriculture has cut its 2026/27 forecast for the EU's sugar output by 8% following this summer's drought, and trimmed its 2026/27 US sugar production forecast by 0.8% to the lowest since