COCOA
March New York cocoa settled down $107, or 4.5 percent, at $2,292 per tonne. This was its largest single-day percentage drop since Aug. 1, and comes one day after the contract hit a nearly 4-month high.
* "There are no fundamental (supportive) issues. There is plenty of cocoa around right now," one dealer said, adding that the recent run-up in prices was driven by speculative short-covering.
* Speculators erased the bulk of a net short position during the recent rise in prices, while dealers said industry buying interest had dried up.
* March London cocoa settled down 51 pounds, or 3 percent, at 1,671 pounds per tonne.
* Good weather and huge port arrivals indicate ample supplies from top grower Ivory Coast, which is in the midst of its main harvest.
* The market has been supported by signs of rising physical demand for cocoa, which were reinforced by comments from chocolate maker Barry Callebaut on Wednesday.
* Indonesia's 2019 cocoa imports may be up to 300,000 tonnes, from current levels of 260,000 tonnes, as chocolate products become more popular in the country.
SUGAR
* March raw sugar settled down 0.17 cent, or 1.3 percent, at 12.84 cents per lb and traded as low as 12.78 cents per lb, a four-week low.
* A potential rise in Brazilian production next season should boost global supplies while exports from India could also help keep the market on the defensive, dealers said.
* India plans to export 2 million tonnes of raw sugar to China from next year, the trade ministry said , as part of an effort to trim bulging stocks and bridge a widening trade deficit.
* The US lowered its outlook for sugar stocks for 2018/19 on reduced production estimates.
* March white sugar settled down $2.20, or 0.6 percent, at $347.10 per tonne.
COFFEE * March arabica coffee settled up 0.75 cent, or 0.6 percent, at $1.2020 per lb.
* Brazil shipped 3.45 million 60-kg bags of green coffee in October, up 33 percent from a year earlier, boosted by a record crop, exporters association Cecafé said.
* January robusta coffee settled down $3, or 0.2 percent, at $1,684 per tonne.
* Output from Vietnam's 2018-19 harvest, which started last month, may not be as high as previously forecast due to unfavorable weather conditions, traders said on Thursday.