SOFTS-London cocoa hits year low as supply swells, while arabica coffee falls

LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - London cocoa futures on ICE steadied on Monday after hitting fresh one-year lows as traders remained upbeat about supply prospects in top producer West Africa, while arabica coffee fell.

COCOA

* London cocoa LCCc2 ​rose 0.6% to 4,382 pounds per metric ton at 1516 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 West African harvest gets underway, while on the demand side, upcoming third-quarter cocoa grind data for Europe, North America and Asia is expected to show further declines.

* "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 1.3% to $6,297 a ton after slumping to its lowest since last October at $6,066.

COFFEE

* Arabica coffee KCc2 fell 2.5% to $3.6500 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.

* Dealers cited reports in the Brazilian press that the U.S. and Brazilian presidents spoke via video call earlier, in a meeting described as "positive" but with few other details available.

* "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 fell 1.2% to $4,469 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 1.5% to 16.72 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 1.4% to $463.70 a ton.