Chicago Board of Trade rough rice futures ended lower on Wednesday after a series of higher closes linked to outlooks for fewer US rice plantings in 2007 compared to last year, traders said.
March rice ended 4-1/2 cents per hundredweight lower at $10.40 and new-crop November closed 5 cents down at $11.45. Volume was thin amid uncertainty about how much US rice will be seeded this year, traders said.
The uncertainty followed this week's government's order to seed dealers not to sell the rice variety Clearfield 131, resistant to the red rice weed, as it may contain a genetic modification not approved for planting. If farmers are not permitted to use the variety, they may be forced to plant another crop, like soyabeans or corn, traders said.
Options volume was nearly as big as futures with firms buying November $10 and $10.20 put options. The put buying cast a bearish tone, traders said. Estimated volume was 689 futures and 572 options, compared to 908 futures and 253 options that traded on Tuesday. Overnight, there was light March deliveries of 20 lots, which were met by strong commercial stopping.
ADM's house account took 13 contracts. The US Agriculture Department said it left its weekly world market price for long grain rough rice unchanged at $7.75 per cwt.
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