SOFTS — Cocoa hovers near month high as demand for the chocolate ingredient surges

LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) — Cocoa futures hovered near a one-month high on Thursday after stronger-than-expected demand data from Asia and Europe, while sugar held near a 19-month peak. Cocoa London cocoa rose 1.5% to £4,380 per metric ton at 1258 GMT,after setting a one-month high of £4,499 on Wednesday. Europe's third-quarter cocoa grind, a measure of demand, rose 3.2% year-on-year, data showed earlier, while Asia's third-quarter grind rose 29.22%. Broker StoneX had forecast a 2.6% drop in Europe and a 17.3% gain in Asia. Grind data from Ivory Coast on Wednesday showed a 46.6% year-on-year gain in September. StoneX had forecast a 27.2% gain. The market is now awaiting the North America grind data due later this session, with StoneX forecasting a 0.2% dip. Elsewhere, dry weather in top grower Ivory Coast and in parts of No. 2 grower Ghana are also underpinning cocoa, intensifying concerns about the El Nino weather event. New York cocoa rose 2.1% to $5,855 a ton, having set a month peak of $6,023 on Wednesday. Sugar Raw sugar rose 1.2% to 21.08 cents per lb, having hit a 19-month peak on Wednesdayof21.29. Sugar is being driven by excess El-Nino-linked rains in Brazil, which slowed p