SOFTS-London cocoa hits year low as supply swells, while raw sugar touches near 2-month peak

LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - London cocoa futures on ICE steadied on Monday after hitting fresh one-year lows earlier, as traders remained upbeat about supply prospects in top producer West Africa, while raw sugar hit its highest in nearly two months.

COCOA

* London cocoa LCCc2 ​rose 0.6% to 4,382 pounds per ric ton at 1259 GMT, after having hit its lowest since early October last year at 4,290. The market fell 10% last week.

* Below-average rains mixed with sunny spells across the Ivory Coast's main cocoa regions last week are expected to improve the size and quality of the main crop, farmers said.

* Cocoa is under pressure as the harvest gets underway in West Africa, while on the demand side, upcoming third-quarter cocoa grind data for Europe, North America and Asia are expected to decline.

* "Weather conditions in West Africa appear to be stabilising and ... the larger London speculators seem to have a rather weak opinion of the market," said a dealer.

* Cocoa speculators increased their net short position by 2,935 lots to 5,711 lots as of September 30, exchange data showed.

* New York cocoa CCc2 rose 0.5% to $6,247 a ton after slumping to its lowest since last October at $6,066.

COFFEE

* Arabica coffee KCc2 fell 1.2% to $3.6970 per lb, having gained 4.25% last week.

* Traders have largely discounted extremely tight exchange stocks KC-TOT-TOT and are waiting to see whether the 50% U.S. tariff on Brazilian imports could be lifted in talks between the U.S. and Brazilian presidents.

* "The anxiously awaited — yet unscheduled — meeting between President Trump and President Lula is critical. The direction of this market depends on whether these two can find a way forward," said coffee broker and consultant Michael J Nugent.

* Robusta coffee LRCc2 dipped 0.1% to $4,518 a ton, having gained 8% last week.

* Top robusta producer Vietnam exported 81,000 tons of coffee in September, a year-on-year increase of 58.5%, government data showed.

SUGAR

* Raw sugar SBc1 ​rose 1.3% to 16.69 cents per lb.

* Broker ADM Investor Services said sugar would likely steady at around 16.69 cents/lb given negative technical signals, adequate supplies in Brazil and "reports that India might begin to use corn to produce ethanol in the country".

* White sugar LSUc1 rose 1.2% to $463.10 a ton.

* The lowest price offered in the international tender from Pakistan to buy 100,000 metric tons of sugar, which closed on Monday, was believed to be $533 a metric ton cost and freight included, European traders said.