LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - Raw sugar, arabica coffee and cocoa futures on ICE dipped in early trading on Tuesday, pressured by a firm dollar and weak financial and commodity markets. Sugar was supported by poor monsoon rains in major growing areas of number two producer India, while robusta coffee was underpinned by a steady drawdown of certified stocks. SUGAR * Sugar futures edged lower, pressured by the firm dollar, and were underpinned by concerns that a lack of rain in India, was expected to cut the country's production prospects. * Indian ministers will meet on Tuesday to discuss measures to deal with a feared drought, including curbs on commodity derivatives, extra subsidies to farmers and the distribution of seeds, but are not expected to ban farm exports. Annual monsoon rains are 21 percent below average since the four-month season began in June, threatening crops. * Benchmark October sugar futures on ICE fell 0.19 cent or 0.8 percent to 22.61 cents a lb at 0844 GMT, having hit a three-month high of 24.00 cents last week. * Refined sugar was sold at smaller premiums to London futures this week after Thailand allowed millers to export more of the sweetener, but Indian whites extended gains, fed by fears over rains and rising domestic prices, dealers said on Tuesday. * White sugar October futures on Liffe were $2.40 or 0.39 percent lower at $617.80 a tonne. * Climate indicators in the western Pacific suggest weak El Nino weather conditions, which can bring dry weather in most parts of Asia, are likely to develop in late winter or spring. * Thai raw sugar premiums this week are likely to stay at their highest in two years on tightening supply after the end of the crushing season, but more cane arrivals from rival Brazil may squeeze prices in the next few weeks, dealers said on Monday. COCOA * Cocoa futures dipped, as dealers eyed weaker demand prospects linked to the global financial crisis, due to a historical link whereby cocoa demand growth tracks GDP growth. * ICE December cocoa futures fell $2 or 0.1 percent to $2,351 a tonne. * Cloudy skies and cool temperatures last week across most of Ivory Coast's main cocoa growing regions could harm developing pods as the country enters the critical run-up to the main crop harvest, farmers and analysts said on Monday. * Ivory Coast sold around 910,000 tonnes, nearly 70 percent, of its projected 2012/2013 cocoa harvest as of early last week as part of a system of auctions introduced earlier this year, an official at the finance ministry said on Monday. * London December cocoa was up 3 pounds or 0.2 percent to 1,596 pounds per tonne. COFFEE * Robusta coffee futures firmed slightly, consolidating gains after hitting a two-month high on Monday, supported by a steady drawdown of certified stocks. * September robusta coffee futures were up $2 or 0.1 percent at $2,242 a tonne. * September arabicas on ICE were down 1.15 cent or 0.6 percent at $1.7720 a lb, pressured by the firm dollar. * Speculators increased net long positions in robusta coffee, cocoa and white sugar futures and options on NYSE Liffe in the week to July 24, exchange data showed on Monday. MARKETS * European shares ended a three-day rally and oil fell on Tuesday as investors feared the recent gains built on anticipation of new stimulus measures from central banks in the United States and Europe had been overdone. * UBS reported a shock slump in profit as a drop in trading pushed its investment bank into the red from the previous quarter and it took a big hit on Facebook's glitch-ridden stock market debut. * Brent crude slipped under $106 per barrel on Tuesday as caution among investors grew that any fresh stimulus measures coming from central bank meetings in the United States and Europe might not be enough to revive their stuttering economies. * Copper was little changed on Tuesday, as traders cautiously waited to see if monetary policy meetings in the U.S. and Europe would yield fresh easing measures while also eyeing factory data from China for new trading cues. * London's FTSE 100 fell on Tuesday as disappointment over earnings from the likes of BP and Fresnillo saw the three-day rally lose steam with investors awaiting a policy response from central banks to boost flagging global growth. * BP Plc delivered the worst of a poor set of quarterly results among top oil companies on Tuesday, slashing $5 billion off the value of U.S. assets and undershooting expectations with its operating result. (Reporting by David Brough; Editing by Alison Birrane)

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