Rough rice futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed lower on Tuesday on spillover technical sales from Monday, traders said. Prices kept within recent ranges, especially after hitting a four-month top on Friday, as the market awaits news.
November rice closed a penny lower at $7.49 per hundredweight and January was 3-1/2 weaker at $7.71. Most of the trade was in January as open interest in November shrank to 99 lots, down 12, by Tuesday's open.
There were no deliveries against the November contract on Tuesday. The market started off easier with the January contract falling 8-1/2 cents to $7.66. But buying by Refco, likely fund-related, brought the market off its lows, floor traders said. The weekly world market price for long grain rough rice increased 6 cents to $5.91, the US Agriculture Department said late Tuesday.
In global news, the Philippines is expected to buy 350,000 tonnes of rice next month. The rice could be sourced from Australia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, United States or Pakistan. The Philippines, which bought about 1.8 million tonnes of rice this year, typically imports rice from neighbours Thailand and Vietnam.