Coffee futures prices fall as Brazilian entities continue to decline

London: Arabica coffee futures fell on Thursday as the weak currency of Brazil's top growers pushed contracts to a two-month low, triggering a technical sell-off and raw sugar futures fell.

Coffee

* Arabica coffee in March fell 1.3 per cent to 97.60 cents per pound at 1409 GMT, the lowest since December 18.

* the Brazilian real hit a three-week low against the dollar. Weaker entities can encourage producers to sell goods denominated in dollars, such as coffee and sugar.

"We are still in a bear market," said one London broker, pointing to high inventories, oversupply of Arabica and Robusta and increased technology sales.

* Vietnamese traders are trying to buy coffee beans from local farmers and are reluctant to sell them at low prices, meaning exports could fall as early as March or April.

* Italy's Massimo Zanetti Beverage signed an agreement to buy Nandi, a Portuguese cafe, to boost coffee production in the country.

* the price of Arabica coffee will rise by the end of 2019 as the market runs a deficit, according to a Reuters poll.

* the price of robusta coffee fell 0.5 per cent to $1526 a tonne in May.

Sugar

* Raw sugar fell 0.9% to 12.64 cents a pound in March, near Monday's low.

* the May contract premium for the March contract was 0.18 cents, hitting a high of 0.22 cents on Tuesday and Wednesday, indicating a tight supply nearby.

Speculators significantly reduced their net short positions in US raw sugar in ICE futures in the week ended January 15, according to US government data.

* White sugar fell 0.2 per cent to $333.80 a tonne in May, hitting $346.400, the highest level since the end of January.

* ICE futures European March contracts totaled 78300 tons of Indian white sugar, according to exchange data.

Cocoa

* New York cocoa fell 0.9 per cent to $2267 a tonne in May, hitting a two-week high the previous trading day.

* London cocoa fell 0.2 per cent to 1710 pounds per tonne in May.

* with the British government likely to lose reports of a Brexit vote later in the session, the pound supported cocoa prices in London, hitting an one-month low.