SOFTS-Robusta coffee rallies as dealers eye Vietnam floods; cocoa recovers

LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Robusta coffee futures on ICE rallied on Thursday as dealers noted harvest delays in top grower Vietnam, and tried to gauge the damage from a new round of floods in the country's coffee growing region.

Cocoa recovered from Wednesday's plunge, meanwhile.

COFFEE

Robusta coffee LRCc2 rose 2.3% to 4,618 pounds a metric ton at 1231 GMT, heading for weekly gains of 9% so far.

The death toll from a new round of torrential rain, flooding and landslides in central Vietnam since the weekend has risen to 16, a government report said.

“It’s been raining heavily here. Flood waters could wash away beans that fell during the downpour, causing huge losses for farmers,” said a trader in the coffee belt.

Another trader said the rain is expected to affect the quality of the beans.

Arabica coffee KCc2 rose 0.5% to $3.7670 per lb.

There is a forecast for beneficial rains in top arabica grower Brazil starting over the weekend.

COCOA

London cocoa LCCc2 rose 2.4% to 3,959 pounds a metric ton, having slumped 6.1% on Wednesday and hit its weakest since February 2024 during the session.

Wednesday's decline gathered momentum after psychological support around 4,000 pounds was breached.

While price charts remain bearish, dealers noted concern over poor quality beans in top grower Ivory Coast and talk that both Ivory Coast and Ghana have stopped marketing beans due to low prices.

New York cocoa CCc2 rose 1.8% to $5,198 a metric ton, having lost 6% on Wednesday.

SUGAR

Raw sugar SBc1 rose 0.3% to 14.17 cents per lb.

The contract remains not far off recent 5 year lows as sugar supplies are ample with a global surplus anticipated in the current 2025/26 season.

Dealers said Brazil November rainfall forecasts remain above average across much of sugar region, favouring cane development for the next crop but limiting cane crushing pace over the next few fortnights.

White sugar LSUc1 rose 0.3% to $421.30 per lb.