SOFTS-Arabica coffee slips from four-month highs while cocoa gains

LONDON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Arabica coffee futures on ICE slipped on Thursday, with the market consolidating after hitting four-month highs this week, while cocoa headed higher.

COFFEE

* Arabica coffee KCc2 edged down 0.1% to $3.8670 per lb at 1341 GMT, having hit its highest since early May at $3.9300 on Tuesday.

* "Coffee prices continue to rally, albeit at a slower rate, driven by U.S. tariff-induced market tightness, declining certified stocks, a downward revision in external forecasts of the 2025 Brazilian arabica harvest and fund buying," Rabobank said.

* It added, however, that the outlook for the 2026/27 arabica crop in top grower Brazil is promising and that this could have a significant impact on prices.

* A transition from El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) neutral to La Niña is likely in the next couple of months, with a 71% chance of La Niña during October to December, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said.

* U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in seven months in August, with tariffs boosting the price of coffee.

* Brazil's coffee exports to the United States in August fell 46% from a year earlier after the Trump administration imposed a 50% tariff on goods imports from Brazil.

* Dealers noted that the question of whether U.S. President Donald Trump overstepped his authority in enacting tariffs will be put before the Supreme Court in November, meaning a ruling is unlikely before early next year.

* Robusta coffee LRCc2 fell 0.2% to $4,471 a metric ton.

* Traders in top robusta producer Vietnam are upbeat about prospects for the coming crop, citing benign weather conditions, but the harvest in third-largest robusta producer Indonesia is being hampered by rain.

COCOA

* London cocoa LCCc2 rose 0.8% to 5,209 pounds a ton, having touched its lowest since July 21 at 4,980 pounds on Tuesday.

* Dealers said the market may have over-sold on the weak demand theme and could be somewhat concerned about the weather, especially with reports of black pod disease in West Africa.

* New York cocoa CCc2 rose 0.9% to $7,537 a ton.

SUGAR

* Raw sugar SBc1 ​fell 0.9% to 15.78 cents per lb, still some off a two-month low of 15.38 cents hit on Monday.

* White sugar LSUc1 fell 0.5% to $487.40 a ton.

* India will consider allowing sugar exports only after ensuring that output from the 2025/26 season fulfills local consumption and meets the requirement for ethanol production, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said.