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CBOT rice ends lower as sell stops hit

CHICAGO: Rough rice futures at the Chicago Board of Trade ended lower on Thursday on local selling and sell stops, CBOT traders said.

CBOT rice settled 5 to 9 cents per hundredweight (cwt) lower, with May off 9 cents at $5.66.

"Locals were sellers," a trader said, adding that ED&F Man was an aggressive late seller in the May contract. "Sell stops were hit as prices were on their way down."

He said Term Commodities was a buyer in the May contract when it was at the day's low at $5.65.

The trader said the market was fundamentally weak amid improving weather conditions in most parts of the United States, which could limit an expected decline in plantings.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in its weekly export sales report issued before the market opened, listed U.S. exports in the week ended March 16 at 80,200 tonnes.

The tally was up 29 percent from the previous week and 11 percent higher than the four-week average.

Rice futures volume was estimated by the CBOT at 475 contracts, compared to 365 traded on Wednesday. -Reuters