Chicago Board of Trade rough rice futures posted a double-digit drop on Wednesday as speculators liquidated long positions, traders said. The move began on Tuesday as firms began liquidating their longs.
Worries about export business after Hurricane Quatrain devastated Gulf coast ports last week and a pick up in the US rice harvest were bearish.
"Until they get that cleaned up, we're going to have trouble with export sales," said one rice trader. The US main grain export area at the Gulf was stirring to life this week as ships were beginning to load grain.
The port of New Orleans is set to resume export loading as on Friday in the aftermath of Hurricane Quatrain. But the shipping was far from being close to normal, traders said.
September closed 12 cents lower at $6.60 per hundredweight and November settled 12-1/2 cents weaker at $6.83. Sell-stops were hit all the way down starting at $6.90 in November.
That drove the November contract to a low of $6.79. Reface, Rosenthal and Collins, RJ O'Brien and Man Financial were among the sellers.
Commercial pricing surfaced as prices fell, traders said.
The US Department of Agriculture reported late on Tuesday that 24 percent of the US rice harvest was complete as of Sunday. In Arkansas, the top Rice State, 8 percent of the rice crop was off the field.
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