SUGAR
* March raw sugar settled up 0.41 cent, or 3.2 percent, at 13.16 cents per lb, the highest since Nov. 29. In post-settlement trade, the contract touched 13.19.
* Sugar were buoyed by higher oil prices, which were up on a more positive demand outlook.
* Higher oil prices encourage increased use of cane in Brazil to make biofuel ethanol rather than sugar.
* Sugar was also lifted by short-covering, dealers said.
* The March contract closed above the 200-day moving average for the seventh consecutive session, offering "confirmation that the trend is changing in sugar," one US trader said.
* "The market is short and now the specs are covering. But now, do they go long? That's the million dollar question," the trader said.
* March white sugar settled up $11.30, or 3.3 percent, at $354.80 per tonne, after touching a Nov. 5 high of $355.80.
* Nordzucker, Germany's second-largest sugar refiner, became the latest European producer to report an earnings slump.
COCOA
* March New York cocoa settled down $67, or 2.9 percent, at $2,274 per tonne, after dipping to $2,259, the lowest since Dec. 24.
* Prices continued their sell off from a Dec. 31 peak of $2,439 as the technical outlook weakened, dealers said.
* Selling accelerated after the contract took out the Dec. 26 low of $2,309, dealers said.
* "I think the fact that we have not been able to hold on to recent gains, the trap door has been hit," one dealer said.
* May London cocoa settled down 18 pounds, or 1.1 percent, at 1,691 pounds a tonne.
* Losses were limited by weakness in sterling while expected currency volatility in the coming days kept some potential participants on the sidelines.
* Market participants were awaiting European grind data for the fourth quarter of 2018, due on Wednesday, with a year-on-year rise of about 3 percent expected. Dealers anticipated North American data, due on Thursday, to be as much as 4.9 percent higher.
COFFEE
* March arabica coffee settled down 1.5 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $1.013 per lb.
* The market was struggling to absorb a huge Brazilian crop, dealers said.
* The outlook for the 2019-20 harvest an off-year in the country's biennial cycle, is also expected to be favorable.
* March robusta coffee settled down $1, or 0.1 percent, at $1,527 per tonne.