COFFEE FUTURES AT SIX-YEAR LOW, UNDER 1 DLR/LB Coffee futures dipped further today and closed below 1 dlr a pound for the first time in six years. Coffee for delivery in May ended at 99.28 cents a pound on the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange, down 0.76 cent and the lowest price since August, 1981. Prices have been falling steadily since the International Coffee Organization failed in February to reach an agreement controlling exports by its members, and pressure was renewed this week as the executive board of the organization met in London without reopening debate on its export quotas. The executive board has limited its current discussions to administrative matters and is set to adourn Thursday. Burdensome supplies have pressed the market down from 1.30 dlr a pound in February, when the organization's discussions aimed at re-establishing export quotas broke down. Sandra Kaul, a coffee analyst in New York with Shearson Lehman Brothers, said supplies currently are at their high point for the year because most producing nations have just completed their harvests. In addition, she said, many of those nations are faced with serious debt and need to sell coffee to raise capital. "This should keep substantial pressure on exporters to undertake sales despite the drop in prices," she said. Further, U.S. demand could be sluggish because winter, the period of greatest consumption, is ending. Prices could fall another 10 cents to 15 cnts a pound, analysts said. Gold futures retreated from modest early gains and closed steady while silver prices rallied on the Commodity Exchange in New York. The increase in U.S. banks' prime rates prompted concern about renewed inflation, but the strength of the U.S. dollar discouraged new buying. "The market is getting mixed signals and it doesn't know which way to go," one analyst said. Gold futures retreated from modest early gains and closed steady while silver prices rallied on the Commodity Exchange in New York. The increase in U.S. banks' prime rates prompted concern about renewed inflation, but the strength of the U.S. dollar discouraged new buying. "The market is getting mixed signals and it doesn't know which way to go," one analyst said.