20000128CBOT rice hits 7-week high on technicals, exports

CHICAGO: Rough rice futures at the Chicago Board of Trade surged to the highest levels in more than seven weeks, boosted by stronger technical factors and signs of improved export demand, traders said.

CBOT rice settled 2 to 11 cents per hundredweight (cwt) higher, with March up 9 at $5.78, the contract's highest close since Dec. 7.

Traders continued to cite indications of a pickup in overseas demand for U.S. rice.

"Export activity has been fairly brisk with paddy sales to Latin America, Turkey, Europe and Mexico," this week's Creed Rice Market report said.

Jack Scoville, a trader with Price Futures Group in Chicago, said stronger technicals encouraged speculative fund buying, adding that slow farmer rice sales also supported prices.

"We had decent fund buying today," Scoville said. "It looks like there's some (export) business around to justify the price. Chart patterns have turned up, giving ideas that we could run the market to $5.90 to $6.00. That's what brought the funds in today."

In the trading pit, Refco Inc. bought about 200 March contracts, traders said.

Rice futures volume in Wednesday's pit session was estimated by the CBOT at 1,000 contracts.-Reuters