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CBOT rice ends near 2-week lows in slow activity

CHICAGO: Rough rice futures at the Chicago Board of Trade ended lower on Tuesday following light activity, with nearby contracts sinking near two-week lows amid sluggish cash activity and continued correction from gains last week.

CBOT rice settled 3 to 6-1/2 cents per hundredweight (cwt) lower, with March down 6-1/2 at $5.42-1/2, the contract's lowest close since Dec. 30.

Traders said the market continued to pull back from last week's climb to three-week highs and had little fundamental reason for further gains amid abundant supplies and uninspiring demand.

Overall CBOT activity was subdued as traders braced for Wednesday's reports from the US Department of Agriculture on supply and demand, crop production and quarterly stocks.

World rice prices were mostly stable, according to the USDA. In its weekly report Tuesday, the USDA listed long grain milled rice at 7.6 cents per lb, unchanged from the previous week.

In the trading pit, E.D. & F. Man International was a light seller in March contracts through the day, traders said. Term Commodities was a buyer near the open, and Goldenberg, Hehmeyer & Co. was a buyer in March and May in what was believed to be short-covering.

Rice futures volume in Tuesday's pit session was estimated by the CBOT at 400 contracts, compared to 133 Monday.-Reuters