Dealers said funds had been extending a net short position against the backdrop of macroeconomic concerns and that improving crop outlooks in key producers India and Thailand remained bearish influences.
"Outside markets are definitely playing a big factor (in the price today)," said RJO Futures senior market strategist Peter Mooses.
World shares began 2019 on a downbeat note. Early in the session, oil prices and bond yields skidded lower and the Japanese yen strengthened as data from China to France confirmed investors' fears of a global economic slowdown. Oil prices later rose as US stocks pared losses.
March white sugar settled down $3.70, or 1.1 percent, at $328.80 per tonne, earlier sliding to $327.80, its lowest since Oct. 2.
March New York cocoa settled down $22, or 0.9 percent, at $2,394 per tonne.
March London cocoa settled down 3 pounds, or 0.2 percent, at 1,763 pounds per tonne.
Dealers said the recent run-up was driven largely by fund short-covering against the backdrop of dry weather in West Africa.
"Early growth of the mid-year crop will remain stress(ed) as significant dryness prevails," weather service Radiant Solutions said of the West Africa cocoa growth region.
Dealers also noted, however, that the pace of port arrivals in top-producer Ivory Coast remained strong. Cocoa arrivals reached 1.051 million tonnes between Oct. 1 and December 31, exporters estimated, up about 19 percent from 882,000 tonnes in the same period last season.
March robusta coffee settled up $5, or 0.3 percent, at $1,530 per tonne.
Indonesian robusta coffee bean exports from the province of Lampung in Sumatra stood at 8,312.4 tonnes in December, data from the local trade office showed.
March arabica coffee settled down 2.35 cent, or 2.31 percent, at $0.995 per lb.
"It's safe to say it's in a holding pattern," said Judy Ganes, president of J. Ganes Consulting. "There's a seasonal tendency for the coffee market to rise in the second half of January, but the normal warning signs for that aren't flashing yet." Dealers said prices, which were higher earlier in the session, declined on broad-based weakness in other markets.