US rice futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rallied to a near one-month high on Tuesday on short-covering and ideas the US Department of Agriculture might trim its US rice ending stocks figure this week, traders said. Optimism that rice market may have bottomed with last week's nine-month lows.
CBOT May ended up 32 cents at $12.97-1/2 per cwt after reaching $13.05, highest level since March 10. New-crop November up 22 cents at $12.78. Nearby old-crop contracts gained against back months on spreads; new-crop November weighed down by prospects for increased 2010 US rice seedings.
USDA said 14 percent of the US rice had been planted as of Sunday, up from 10 percent a year ago and above the five-year average of 12 percent. Traders still digesting USDA's March 1 stocks data from last week, which showed higher rice stocks from a year ago but also increased usage - a sign USDA might lower its US rice carryout in its April supply-demand report on Friday. India's April 1 rice stocks at 26.7 million tonnes against target of 12.2 million tonnes - gov't sources.