LONDON: Arabica coffee futures fell on Thursday as a weaker currency in top grower Brazil pushed the contracts to two-months lows, sparking technical selling, while raw sugar futures also fell.
COFFEE
* March arabica coffee fell 1.3 percent to 97.60 cents per pound at 1409 GMT, after dipping to 97.55, its lowest since Dec. 18.
* The Brazilian real hit its lowest in three weeks versus the US dollar. A weaker real can encourage producer selling of dollar-denominated commodities like coffee and sugar.
* "We're still in a bear market," said a London-based broker, pointing to high stocks, oversupply in both arabica and robusta, and increased technical selling.
* Traders in Vietnam are struggling to buy coffee beans from local farmers who are reluctant to sell at low prices, meaning exports could decline as early as March or April.
* Italy's Massimo Zanetti Beverage has signed a deal to buy Portugal's Cafes Nandi in a move to boost coffee production in the country.
* Arabica coffee prices will rise by the end of 2019 as the market swings into deficit, a Reuters poll showed.
* May robusta coffee fell 0.5 percent to $1,526 per tonne.
SUGAR
* March raw sugar fell 0.9 percent to 12.64 cents per lb, nearing Monday's lows.
* The March contract's premium over May was at 0.18 cents, having hit a high of 0.22 cents on Tuesday and Wednesday, indicating tightness in nearby supply.
* Speculators sharply reduced their net short position in raw sugar on ICE Futures US in the week to Jan. 15, US government data showed.
* May white sugar dipped 0.2 percent at $333.80 a tonne, having hit $346.400, its highest since late January.
* A total of 78,300 tonnes of mostly Indian white sugar has been tendered against the March contract on ICE Futures Europe, exchange data showed.
COCOA
* May New York cocoa fell 0.9 percent to $2,267 per tonne, having touched a two-week high in the previous session.
* May London cocoa fell 0.2 percent to 1,710 pounds per tonne.
* Underpinning cocoa prices in London, sterling hit a one-month low on reports the British government could lose a key Brexit parliamentary vote later this session.
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