LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE climbed to a seven-month high on Thursday with the recent run-up fuelled by fund buying while arabica coffee prices also advanced.

SUGAR

March raw sugar ?was up 0.01 cent, or 0.1pc, at 14.15 cents per lb at 1049 GMT after climbing to a seven-month peak of 14.24 cents earlier.

Dealers said funds continued to extend long positions against the backdrop of adverse weather in top exporter Brazil.

"The path of least resistance remains to higher prices for now. We would caution though that the reversal from those highs is potentially nasty," Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Tobin Gorey said, adding funds may soon reach the limit of their risk capacity and stop buying.

December white sugar rose by $1.00, or 0.3pc, to $385.10 a tonne.

Suedzucker, Europe's largest sugar refiner, on Thursday posted a 142pc surge in second-quarter earnings and reaffirmed its estimate of a stronger annual profit with its sugar and biofuels sectors performing well.

COFFEE

December arabica coffee rose by 1.85 cents, or 1.7pc, to $1.1145 per lb as the market extended its rebound from last week's more than two-month low of $1.0490.

Dealers said the market's improved performance in the last few days had created a more bullish outlook and price charts and there was scope for prices to rise further.

November robusta coffee rose by $4, or 0.3pc, to $1,250 a tonne.

Coffee prices in Vietnam fell for the third consecutive week following a drop in London prices, while premiums in Indonesia widened to compensate for a lower benchmark price, traders said on Thursday.

COCOA

December London cocoa rose 10 pounds, or 0.6pc, to 1,720 pounds.

December New York cocoa?? was up $28, or 1.1pc, at $2,480 a tonne.