COFFEE FUTURES UNDER DLR A POUND AT SIX-YEAR LOW Coffee futures dipped further and closed below one dlr a pound for the first time in six years. Coffee for delivery in May ended at 99.28 cents a pound on the New York Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange, down 0.76 cent and the lowest price since August, 1981. Prices have fallen 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 dlrs 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 to 15 cents 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. Cattle futures posted new highs on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, while live hogs rallied from early losses and frozen pork bellies finished sharply lower. Cattle prices continued to draw support from the winter storm that swept the Plains states, leaving animals stranded in snowbound fields and feed lots in miserable condition. Live hogs were pressured early by the Agriculture Department's report Tuesday that producers expanded their breeding herds more than the market expected last quarter. Prices recovered to keep pace with higher cash prices. Frozen pork bellies fell sharply on the outlook for greater production and closed with limit losses. Soybean futures posted sharp gains on the Chicago Board of Trade, while corn and wheat were lower. Soybeans rallied in response to Tuesday's USDA report that farmers intend to plant 56.9 mln acres this year, down from 61.5 mln planted last year. Corn prices were pressured by the outlook for 67.6 mln acres of corn, which is down from last year's 76.7 mln acres, but was larger than analysts expected.