Arabica coffee futures were unchanged Wednesday despite firmer coffee prices in London and Sao Paulo, exchange floor sources said. At 8:33 am EST (1333 GMT), London benchmark March robusta was up $13 at $779 a tonne on fund buying. Sao Paulo's front-month coffee contract gained 0.15 percent. "We are calling it unchanged to a little better at the moment. London is moving here, and it looked like a lot of locals (in New York) went home long yesterday," said a market source.

However, other traders said arabica futures would open unchanged to a shade lower because London gained less than what they had expected.

On Tuesday, the March arabica contract listed on the New York Board of Trade edged up 0.45 cent to settle at 105.80 cents a lb, the highest since December 29 when it closed at 107.95 cents. The session's trading range was 103.30 to 105.90 cents.

May gained 0.50 cent to 108.20 cents and more distant deliveries settled up 0.50 to 0.90 cent.

Technically, traders pegged support in March arabica at 103.30 and then 102.50 cents, with resistance at 106.25 cents, 108.10 and 108.70 cents.

Copyright Reuters, 2005