LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Sugar futures prices rallied in early trade on Wednesday on investor buying, supported by the weaker dollar and concerns over the impact of adverse weather on output in leading producers, dealers said.
The rise was against a backdrop of stronger commodities with gold hitting another record peak, fuelled by the soft dollar, which makes positions cheaper in terms of other currencies.
Dealers said sugar prices were also underpinned by high domestic prices in India which have heightened talk that the world's leading consumer may buy more sugar soon.
Sugar crop estimates have been cut in the top two producers Brazil and India, both of which have been hit by bad weather, a European broker said in a market report, adding the El Nino weather pattern had harmed the Australian harvest.
Cocoa and coffee futures also rose on the softer dollar, with the upside capped by harvest pressure as new cocoa crops arrived at a strong pace in the leading growing region West Africa and the robusta crop arrived in top producer Vietnam.
Cocoa dealers tracked reports that Hershey Co and Ferrero SpA could mount a bid to British chocolate maker Cadbury to rival that of U.S. food giant Kraft.

* ICE March raw sugar up 0.48 cent to 23.58 cents a lb at 0911 GMT.
* London March white sugar up $10.90 at $622.20 per tonne.
* ICE March arabicas up 1.55 cents at $1.4040 per lb.
* London Jan robustas up $19 at $1,347 per tonne.
* ICE March cocoa up $22 to $3,159 per tonne.
* London March cocoa lost 5 pounds a tonne to finish at 2,058 pounds per tonne on Tuesday.

* U.S. CPI/core CPI for September, due 1330 GMT.
* U.S. October real earnings, 1330 GMT.
* U.S. October housing starts/building permits, 1330 GMT.
* Euro zone September current account data, due 0900 GMT.
* Euro zone September investment flows data, due 0900 GMT.
* Bank of England publishes minutes of November meeting, 0930 GMT.

* The dollar eased back on Wednesday from its biggest rise in three weeks in the previous session, as traders awaited U.S. inflation data and minutes from the Bank of England's November meeting for further direction.
* Oil extended gains towards $80 a barrel, supported by an industry report that showed crude stocks in the U.S. fell steeply last week, but limited by U.S. economic data that painted a picture of a slow recovery.

* Shares in British chocolate maker Cadbury rose back above 800 pence for the first time in almost a month on expectations Hershey Co and Ferrero SpA would mount a bid to rival that of U.S. food giant Kraft.
* Russia refined 2.59 million tonnes of white sugar from beets by Nov. 16, some 1.4 percent more than a year ago, despite lower volumes of processed beets, the Russian Sugar Producers' Union said late on Tuesday.
* A U.N. food summit failed to tackle the domination of global food markets by large agri-business corporations, and was vague on biofuels and commodity speculation, the U.N. food envoy said.
* Top Vietnamese coffee exporters will sell more prompt cargoes at outright prices, cutting the number of cargoes sold for forward shipment and priced at discounts to London futures contracts, an industry official said on Wednesday.
* Export prices for Brazilian fine coffees have been rising, exporters and traders said on Tuesday, as short supply due to poor weather during harvesting and government purchases make quality beans harder to find.

* London Jan robusta coffee support $1,295 per tonne, resistance $1,400.
* ICE March arabica coffee support $1.3305 per lb, resistance $1.45.
* London March white sugar support $593.50 per tonne, resistance $650.00.
* ICE March raw sugar support 21.78 cents a lb, resistance 24.00 cents.
* London March cocoa support at 2,000 pounds a tonne, resistance 2,150 pounds.
* ICE March cocoa support at $3,100 a tonne, resistance $3,284.
(Reporting by David Brough; Editing by James Jukwey) For Relevant Price Information, Double Click on one of these codes: For related news and prices, click on the codes in brackets: Sugar futures/spreads Sugar cash prices Coffee futures/spreads Coffee cash prices Cocoa futures/spreads Cocoa cash prices RELATED NEWS AND OTHER TOPICS All sugar news All coffee news All cocoa news All softs news All commodities news Softs diary Weather news Foreign exchange rates SPEED GUIDES Keywords: MARKETS SOFTS/

(david.brough@thomsonreuters.com ; +44 207 542 8421; Reuters Messaging: david.brough.reuters.com@reuters.net )

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