Price controls for coffee were mostly abandoned years ago due to the difficulty of reaching global agreements on supply, exposing farmers to sharp price crashes. In 2019, the world's third-largest producer, Colombia, introduced subsidies for coffee growers and, along with Brazil, called for supply caps.
Lopez Obrador has authorized price floors for other agricultural commodities, including Mexico's staple corn, but has to yet to carry through on most of his coffee campaign promises.
A weaker real encourages Brazilian exporters to sell dollar-priced commodities such as sugar and coffee because it raises their returns in local currency terms.
Dealers noted buying emerged around the day's low of 15.55 cents a lb, a level where it also found support on Friday and in early February.
Arabica prices will end 2021 at $1.35 per pound, up 7.7% from Monday's close (Feb.1) and 5.3% above levels seen at the end of 2020, based on the median forecast of survey participants.
Top producer Brazil enters an off-year in its biennial crop cycle in the upcoming 2021/22 season.