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CBOT rice closes lower on fund selling, sell-stops

CHICAGO: Rough rice futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed lower on Wednesday on fund selling as sell-stops exacerbated the declines, traders said.

Rice closed 9-1/2 to 10-1/2 cents per cwt lower, with March down 10-1/2 at $5.42-1/2.

"It was mostly technical today and sell-stops were hit at several levels," a trader said.

Technicians said the selling quickened when stops were hit at $5.50 and $5.45 in the March and at $5.80 in the May.

Demand for rice remained satisfactory but the burdensome supply of rice in the United States and elsewhere continues to weigh on prices, the traders said.

USDA Friday in its February supply/demand report pegged world rice production at a record 397.4 million tonnes in 1999/00, up about 1 million tonnes from last month's estimate. Global ending stocks were boosted to a record 59.4 million tonnes, up about 600,000 tonnes from last month's forecast.

E.D. and F. Man International and ADM Investor Services each was a noted seller of the March contract, the traders said.

Rice futures volume was estimated by the CBOT at 600 lots, below the 1,323 lots traded Tuesday. -Reuters