US rough rice futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher on Tuesday, notching an all-time high on spillover strength from the soaring Minneapolis wheat market, traders said. CBOT March rice ended 1-1/2 cent up at $14.59 per hundredweight.
The deferreds closed 3 to 6 cents up, with July 3 higher at $15.18 after climbing to a record top of $15.21. The rice market was lifted by speculative buying, hitting the day's high when buy-stop orders were hit above $14.67 in March, traders said.
The rally was met by commercial hedge sales out of MF Global. In Minneapolis, the nearby March wheat contract remains historically high making another all-time high of over $13 a bushel on Tuesday. Hot demand for spot high-protein wheat is fuelling the rally. However, the back Minneapolis wheat contracts ended lower.
Volume was large estimated at 1,681 futures and 24 options, compared to 487 futures and 325 options traded on Monday. In global news, the Philippines failed to attract sufficient tenders to meet its import requirement of 550,000 tonnes of rice.