NYBOT arabica coffee futures closed slightly softer Thursday on sales by small speculators with the trades focus fixed on winter conditions in leading producer Brazil, brokers said.
July arabicas shed 0.40 cent to conclude at 74.05 cents a lb, almost in the middle of its 73.60 to 74.60 cents trading band.
Key September fell 0.35 to 76.25 cents, trading between 75.60 and 76.70 cents. The rest lost 0.15 to 0.25 cent.
Judy Ganes of J. Ganes Consulting said coffee futures were "treading water" given the dearth in market-moving news.
Final estimated volume hit 7,507 lots, down from the Wednesday tally of 10,582 lots. Call volume was 5,075 lots, while puts reached 1,318 lots. Open interest in the arabica coffee market fell 1,192 contracts to 90,518 lots as of June 23.