20000202

CBOT rice closes lower as soyabeans fall sharply

CHICAGO: Rough rice futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed on lower on spill-over speculative selling from other pits, especially from the sharp fall in soyabeans, traders said.

CBOT rice closed 15 to 17 cents per cwt lower, with March down 15 at $5.79.

CBOT soyabeans and soya products fell sharply Monday as unexpected rains swept Brazil's key southern soyabean region and there were outlooks for more rainfall this week in that region.

"Everything went down today and I think last week we reached the upper end of a trading range (for rice)," a trader said.

Rice gained last week on active export demand and there were signs Monday that interest continued at a brisk pace.

"The market is still heavy with the production and carry-over of rice, but demand has been excellent and I think it will stay excellent," a cash-connected trader said.

Commercial buying underpinned prices, with Term Commodities, the marketing arm of Louis Dreyfus Corp., a key purchaser of rice futures Monday, traders said. E.D. & F. Man International was a noted seller and ADM Investor Services was on both sides of the market but was a net seller, they said.

Rice futures volume was estimated by the CBOT at 1,300 lots, above the 1,196 lots traded Friday.-Reuters