Rough rice futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed lower on Thursday, pressured by disappointing weekly export data and follow-through sales, traders said. "Export sales and shipments were not constructive for the bull side of the market," said one rice trader. July rice closed 6-1/2 cents weaker at $10.41-1/2 per hundredweight.
The back months ended 4 to 6 cents lower. Volume was light estimated at 250 futures and 78 options, but that was up from the 197 futures traded on Wednesday. The US Agriculture Department reported last week's rice export sales at 22,500 tonnes, 62 percent below the previous week. Export shipments were only 49,000 tonnes, or 57 percent below the week before. US rice export sales are down 18 percent this year. Export business remains disappointing as customers have backed away from American rice after a biotech gene material was found in the US supply last summer.
Analytical firm Informal Economics issued its latest planting estimates on Thursday. The firm pegged US rice plantings at 2.597 million acres, down from 2.644 million estimated by USDA in March. The government will release its updated planting figures on June 29. There were light May deliveries of 12 contracts on Thursday, with a Forties customer taking 10 lots.