Arabica coffee sets 7-month high on Brazil crop concerns

LONDON: Arabica coffee futures rose to a seven-month high on Monday supported by concerns that a cold snap in Brazil later this week could pose a threat to crops in the world's top producer.

Sugar and cocoa prices also advanced.

COFFEE

* September arabica coffee rose 3.0 cents, or 2.7%, to $1.1245 per lb by 1123 GMT, after rising to a seven-month peak of $1.1330.

* Dealers said the latest forecasts for coffee growing regions in Brazil indicated lower than previously expected temperatures during a cold snap from Friday through Sunday.

* They noted it did not yet appear likely to be cold enough to do significant damage to crops but there were sufficient concerns to prompt short covering.

* The recent strong performance had also created a bullish outlook on price charts while further support came from a more positive mood in broader economic markets linked to news that the United States and China had agreed to restart trade talks.

* Robusta coffee prices were dragged higher by the strength of the arabica market.

* September robusta coffee rose $26, or 1.8%, to $1,477 a tonne.

SUGAR

* October raw sugar was up 0.16 cents, or 1.3%, at 12.78 cents per lb.

* Dealers said the market was supported by continued concerns that a weaker-than-normal monsoon in India could curtail sugar production.

* India is likely to produce 28.2 million tonnes of sugar in the season beginning Oct. 1, 2019, down 14.5 percent from a year earlier, a leading industry body said on Monday.

* A rise in crude oil prices and the more positive mood in economic markets also provided support for sugar.

* Dealers were also digesting news of a record delivery of sugar against the July contract which expired on Friday.

* Sucres et Denrees (Sucden), Alvean, ED&F Man, and Louis Dreyfus Company scooped up the delivery of the July raw sugar against ICE Futures US contract, traders said.

* The delivery against the July raw sugar contract on ICE Futures US totaled about 41,500 lots, about 2.1 million tonnes of raw sugar, three traders told Reuters.

* August white sugar rose $1.20, or 0.4%, to $329.60 per tonne.

COCOA

* September New York cocoa rose $24, or 1.0%, to $2,449 per tonne.

* September London cocoa was up 26 pounds, or 1.4 percent, at 1,831 pounds a tonne.