Rough rice futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed weaker on Tuesday as the market remains pressured by the government's bearish US acreage figure released on Friday, traders said. The US Agriculture Department raised its US rice-planting estimate to 2.744 million acres on Friday, above its March forecast of 2.644 million.
That surprised many traders who expected a decrease in rice acres. But the figure was down from the 2.838 million acres seeded in 2006. The July contract closed 5 cents per hundredweight weaker at $10.28 after hitting a low of $10.25 just above nearby support of $10.24-1/2, last week's low.
September settled 11 lower at $10.52 and November ended 11 cents down at $10.83. The July-September and July-November spread firmed 6 cents after no July futures deliveries were posted on Tuesday. Light speculative selling pressed the market, likely long liquidation, with commercial pricing by Man Financial offering support, traders said.
CBOT markets will be closed for the Independence Day holiday until the electronic session on Wednesday night. This year's US crop was in good shape. USDA on Monday rated 74 percent of the rice good to excellent, unchanged from the week before and above last year's rating of 59 percent good to excellent.
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