UPDATE 1-COMMODITIES-Wheat hits record high 4th time in a week

(Recasts, updates prices and market activity to U.S. close; adds second byline, dateline, previously LONDON)

By Barani Krishnan and Veronica Brown

NEW YORK/LONDON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Global wheat prices jumped again on Thursday, hitting record highs the fourth time in a week as Egypt, India and Iraq snapped up the grain on fear that supply woes in Australia and Argentina could drive the market still higher.

In markets for soft commodities, London white sugar futures fell to 26-month lows, pressured by a glut. Coffee also slipped, giving back most of the last session's gains as Hurricane Felix was downgraded to a tropical depression, easing worries about Central America's crop.

Oil prices kept climbing, nearing the Aug. 1 historic high $78.77 a barrel set by U.S. crude.

Copper and gold fell, tracking stock market movements more than demand for industrial and precious metals.

The benchmark December wheat futures contract WZ7 on the Chicago Board of Trade hit an all-time high of $8.35-1/2 a bushel -- the fourth time since Aug. 29.

Milling wheat futures traded in Paris soared to a record 300 euros a tonne for the benchmark November contract BL2X7.

With wheat prices buoyed by changing weather patterns, industrialization in Asia and the biofuels boom, analysts said food makers would be forced to raise prices for staples such as bread and cereal.