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CBOT rice ends higher on exports data, funds

CHICAGO: Rough rice futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher on Thursday amid support from weekly exports and commodity funds.

CBOT rice settled 7-1/2 to 18 cents per hundredweight (cwt), with May up 7-1/2 at $5.83. New crop November was up 17 cents at $7.10.

The US Department of Agriculture listed weekly exports of US rice in the week ended March 23 117,400 tonnes.

The tally was 46 percent above the previous week and 54 percent higher than the four-week average. Primary export destinations were Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Japan and Turkey.

"The export sales were supportive," a CBOT trader said. "There was also some fund-related buying."

He said Refco Inc. bought about 80 to 100 May contracts while Rosenthal Collins bought 50 to 60 November contracts.

The trader said some of the buying was position squaring ahead of the Friday release of reports on quarterly grain stocks and plantings by the US Department of Agriculture.

Rice futures volume was estimated by the CBOT at 650 lots, compared to 436 traded on Wednesday.-Reuters