Cocoa gains on better than expected demand data; coffee, sugar also up

Cocoa futures on ICE headed further away from this week's 1-1/2 year lows on Thursday after better-than-expected demand data, while coffee and sugar also rose.

COCOA

* London cocoa C2! rose 2.1% to 4,203 pounds per metric ton at 1255 GMT, having hit a more than 1-1/2-year low of 4,029 pounds on Monday.

* Europe's third-quarter cocoa grind, a measure of demand, fell 4.8% from a year earlier to 337,353 metric tons, industry data showed earlier.

* Dealers said most market participants were expecting a decline of "just under double digits".

* Cocoa has been under pressure from falling demand for the chocolate ingredient amid historically high prices and from bets the market will record a significant surplus this season.

* KitKat chocolate maker Nestle NESN.S, hit by fragile consumer confidence, steep U.S. import tariffs and management turmoil, said earlier it will cut 16,000 jobs or 5.8% of its total workforce.

* Dealers are awaiting Asia and U.S. grind figures, due out later this session.

* Ivory Coast's cocoa grind fell 38.6% year-on-year in September, industry data showed on Tuesday.

* New York cocoa CC1! fell 2.7% to $5,966 a ton.

COFFEE

* Arabica coffee KC1! rose 1.1% to $3.9905 per lb, edging back near Wednesday's one month high.

* Arabica is being boosted by low exchange stocks (KC-TOT-TOT), dry weather in top grower Brazil and the country's looming trade talks with the United States, scheduled start later this session.

* A possible revision of the 50% U.S. tariff on Brazilian imports including coffee would pressure arabica prices were it to transpire.

* Robusta coffee RC2! rose 1.9% to $4,536 a metric ton.

SUGAR

* Raw sugar SB1! ​rose 1% to 15.85 cents per lb.

* The market was awaiting data on sugar and cane production in the key Centre-South region of Brazil for the second half of September, which should be published later this session.

* White sugar SF1! rose 0.4% to $441.90 a ton.