SOFTS-Raw sugar climbs to six-year high; arabica touches one-month peak

LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Raw sugar futures hit a six-year high on Tuesday on continuing worries over tightening supply, highlighted by a worsening production outlook in India.

Arabica coffee, meanwhile, scaled a one-month peak.

SUGAR

* March raw sugar SBc1 rose 1.6% to 21.55 cents per lb by 1253 GMT after touching its highest since late 2016 at 21.66 cents.

* India, the world's second-largest sugar exporter, is likely to produce 34 million tonnes of the sweetener in 2022/23, down 7% from the previous forecast, a leading trade body said, citing a weather-related drop in sugar cane yields in major producing states.

* Dealers said sugar prices were being boosted by that production outlook coupled with concerns that top exporter Brazil might also produce less if its energy policy makes ethanol more lucrative than sugar.

* They added, however, that technical signals suggest the market is moving close to over-bought territory.

* The premium for March raws over May SB-1=R peaked at 1.45 cents on Monday, matching Friday's peak and indicating tight near-term supply.

* March white sugar LSUc1 rose 0.5% to $571.50 a tonne.

COFFEE

* March arabica coffee KCc1 was little changed at $1.7035 cents per lb after touching the highest price since late December at $1.7185.

* Dealers said arabica is being driven by a rise in some Brazilian physical coffee premiums to their highest in a decade.

* This tight supply indicator and friendlier macroeconomic sentiment has spooked short-selling speculators, they said.

* March robusta coffee LRCc1 rose 0.6% to $2,049 a tonne.

* Indonesia exported 16,152.89 tonnes of Sumatran robusta coffee beans from Lampung province in December, down 51% from a year earlier, data showed.

COCOA

* March New York cocoa CCc1 fell 1% to $2,586 a tonne.

* Above-average rain in most of top grower Ivory Coast's cocoa regions last week will boost the April to September mid-crop after weeks of dry weather, farmers said

* March London cocoa LCCc1 fell 0.5% to 2,028 pounds per tonne​.

(Reporting by Maytaal Angel Editing by David Goodman )

((maytaal.angel@thomsonreuters.com(00442075429105)(Reuters Messaging: maytaal.angel.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) ))

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