SOFTS-Coffee plunges 4% on fund sell-off amid forecast for rains in Brazil

NEW YORK/LONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Arabica coffee futures on ICE closed more than 4% down on Tuesday as speculators liquidated part of their long position amid forecast for ample rains over coffee fields in the top grower Brazil.

Raw sugar closed up following the rally on energy prices.

COFFEE

* December arabica coffee closed down 8.45 cents, or 4.2%, at $1.919 per lb, after hitting a two-month high of $2.0685 in the previous session.

* Some speculators who bought coffee futures in the previous sessions due to uncertainties related to supplies next season decided to liquidate part of that position as ample rains are seen falling over crops in Brazil in coming days.

* "On Friday we saw OI (open interest) increase by an impressive 8.8k lots that appeared to be specs adding to longs, and this continued with another 1.2k lots on Monday," said Ryan Delany, chief analyst at Coffee Trading Academy, LLC.

* "However, it is hard for the market to be super bullish on drought when it is raining and projected to continue raining above and beyond normal," he said.

* Refinitiv's Agricultural Weather Dashboard indicates rains of up to 90 millimetres (3.54 inches) for the next weekend in South Minas Gerais, Brazil's number 1 coffee region.

* The added moisture should help crop development for next year's harvest, although more is needed.

* November robusta coffee settled down $37, or 1.7%, at $2,111 a tonne.

SUGAR

* March raw sugar rose 0.16 cent, or 0.8%, at 19.85 cents per lb as energy prices soared.

* The increase in energy and fuel prices is spreading to renewable fuels and feedstocks, dealers said.

* "Renewables are catching a bid as crude keeps marching higher," said a U.S. sugar broker, adding that futures of soybean oil and palm oil were also up strongly.

* The world's sugar supply balance is expected to improve in the 2021/22 season due to higher production in Asia and Europe, broker StoneX said on Tuesday.

* December white sugar rose $4.90, or 1.0%, at $507.50 a tonne.

COCOA

* December New York cocoa settled up $3, or 0.1%, to $2,755 a tonne. The contract hit a 10-month high of $2,792 on Monday.

* December London cocoa fell 10 pounds, or 0.5%, to 1,887 pounds per tonne. (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira and Maytaal Angel; Editing by David Goodman and Shailesh Kuber)