ICE Arabica coffee fell to a five-month low for the third day in a row.

New YORK / London (Reuters)-ICE Arabica coffee futures fell to a five-month low on Wednesday, extending into the third day after falling below technical sell signals.

New York cocoa futures, supported by a rise in sterling, faded after the early closure of the British market. The price of raw sugar has not changed much.

Trading volume was light ahead of the Christmas holiday on Thursday. Trading in ICE futures will resume in the United States on Friday and will be closed in Europe until Monday.

Arabica coffee closed down 85 cents, or 0.5%, at $1.7015 a pound in March, after falling as low as $1.6975 in intraday trading, the lowest in recent months since the end of July.

The most actively traded March contract closed below 50 per cent of Fibonacci's technical level from the November 2013 low on Monday, triggering sustained technology selling, traders said.

In March, Robusta coffee closed down $8 at $1903 a tonne.

New York March cocoa futures rose $4, or 0.13%, to $2970 a tonne. London could close 2 or 0.1 per cent lower at 1983 a tonne in March.

Raw sugar futures fell slightly, with traders saying they were under pressure from recent abundant supply and the weakness of the Brazilian real.

March raw sugar futures closed down 0.07 cents, or 0.5% to 14.76 cents per pound. Sugar settlement rose $1.30 to $392.00 a tonne in March.