Below are highlights for the cocoa, coffee and sugar markets:
COCOA
ICE cocoa futures rose after Europe's first-quarter grind, a measure of demand, rose 3.5 percent on the year-earlier period to 353,103 tonnes, at the higher end of analysts' and dealers' expectations.
* Grinding capacity utilisation in Europe was forecast to have increased due to a lack of activity in Ivory Coast because of a power struggle in the top producer.
* Cocoa futures were underpinned by worries about possible disruptions to the mid-crop harvest in Ivory Coast even as exports were set to resume from the country after months of political turmoil.
* Germany's first-quarter 2011 cocoa grind rose 22.7 percent on the year to 108,816 tonnes, the association of German confectionery producers BDSI said on Thursday. The association said the large rise was partly due to a change in statistical calculation, because more companies were contributing grinding data than in the first quarter of 2010.
* ICE second-month, July cocoa was up $9 or 0.3 percent to $3,079 per tonne in modest volume of 490 lots at 0833 GMT, below the 32-year high of $3,775 per tonne touched on March 4.
* London second-month, July cocoa was up 2 pounds or 0.1 percent to 1,948 pounds per tonne in light turnover of 336 lots.
SUGAR
* Raw sugar futures on ICE firmed in early trade, with upside potential limited by bigger-than-expected Thai output. ICE raw sugar futures closed on Wednesday at their lowest level in six months, weighed by expectations of large Brazilian and Thai supplies.
* ICE May raw sugar futures rose 0.13 cent or 0.5 percent to 24.92 cents a lb at 0836 GMT.
* Dealers said a focus in the market was on how much sugar would be delivered when London's May white sugar contract goes off the board on Friday.
* London May white sugar fell $3.60 or 0.5 percent to $687.80 per tonne in slim volume of 734 lots.
COFFEE
* Arabica coffee futures on ICE were little changed in light early volumes, underpinned by tight global supplies of high quality beans.
* ICE July arabica coffee fell 0.95 cents or 0.3 percent to $2.8275 per lb at 0837 GMT.
* Liffe July robustas were down $10 or 0.4 percent to $2,490 a tonne in modest volume of 1,831 lots.
OTHER MARKETS
* The dollar hit a fresh 16-month low against a basket of currencies as expectations grew the Federal Reserve would keep its loose monetary policy, widening interest rate differentials in favour of higher-yielding currencies.
* Asian stocks slipped as the market consolidated after a recent run-up to near three-year highs, although Singapore's impressive growth data underscored investor confidence in the region.
* Brent crude fell, trading below $123 a barrel on concerns about the impact of high prices on demand, although continued unrest in the Middle East and a sharp fall in U.S. gasoline stocks limited losses.
* European shares were seen opening slightly lower, reversing the previous day's gains to track weakness in Asia, with heavyweight mining shares set to slip as copper prices eased on tightening worries in China.
* U.S. stocks finished mostly flat in a choppy session on Wednesday as investors bet on strong technology earnings even as JPMorgan Chase's numbers weighed on other market sectors. (Reporting by David Brough; editing by Jane Baird)