COFFEE
* May arabica coffee settled down 1.95 cents, or 1.9 percent, at 99.45 cents per lb. In post-settlement trade, the second position fell to 99.05 cents, its lowest since September.
* Plentiful global supplies, particularly from top-grower Brazil, continued to weigh, dealers said.
* Prices were also pressured by a weaker Brazilian real, which hit a one-week low against the US dollar, dealers said.
* "These systematic traders that trade coffee get aggressive when the real is weak. That could be a little bit of a problem," said the US trader. "Where would coffee be trading if the real was out to $4?"
* Open interest climbed as new shorts entered the market, said one US trader. Total open interest rose on Wednesday by 4,898 lots to 287,632 lots, ICE data show.
* Colombia's coffee federation called for the government to make structural changes to help coffee farmers in the face of low international prices.
* May robusta coffee settled down $11, or 0.7 percent, at $1,533 per tonne.
* Vietnamese farmers held back from selling coffee beans this week due to low prices after the harvest ended last month, while trading in Indonesia remained muted due to a lack of supply.
SUGAR
* May raw sugar settled down 0.18 cent, or 1.4 percent, at 13.20 cents per lb, after trading within Wednesday's range. This was the contract's first negative finish in four sessions.
* Prices hit a 3-1/2 month high of 13.42 cents on Wednesday as dealers covered short positions against the backdrop of rising oil prices.
* Rising gasoline prices in Brazil and improved economic prospects in 2019 are boosting the outlook for ethanol sales and mills may once again skew toward the biofuel and away from sugar as the new cane crop approaches.
* May white sugar settled down $3.80, or 1.1 percent, at $356.20 per tonne.
COCOA
* May New York cocoa settled down $42, or 1.8 percent, at $2,275 per tonne after dipping to $2,241, a one-week low.
* There was long liquidation as focus returned to a likely record-large crop in top-grower Ivory Coast this year, dealers said.
* Total open interest fell on Wednesday to a 3-month low of 230,078, ICE data show.
* May London cocoa settled down 16 pounds, or 0.9 percent, at 1,733 pounds per tonne.