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RICE
futures in Chicago soared for a third day, reaching a
record before tenders by the Philippines to buy 1
million metric tons. Wheat also gained, while corn and
soybeans were lower.
The
Philippines, the world’s biggest rice importer, plans to
buy 500,000 tons on May 5, on top of a planned purchase
of the same amount tomorrow, the National Food Authority
(NFA) said.
Prices
have more than doubled in the past year as countries
including Vietnam, China, Egypt and India have curbed
rice exports this year to protect domestic stockpiles
and control rising costs.
“The
amount sought by the
Philippines
looks very big as global supplies are currently very
tight,” Kazuhiko Saito, a commodity strategist at
Interest Capital Management, said Wednesday by phone
from Tokyo.
Rice
futures for May delivery rose by as much as 50 cents, or
2.3 percent, to $22.67 per 100 pounds in after-hours
electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade and
stood at $22.65 at 10:04 a.m. Singapore time.
The
contract gained the exchange-imposed limit of 75 cents
yesterday after the government said US planting was well
behind last year’s pace because of floods in Arkansas,
the biggest rice-growing state.
Farmers
in Arkansas have planted just 2 percent of this year’s
crop compared with 31 percent last year, the US
Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on April 14. Just
14 percent of the crop was sown in the six biggest
US
rice-growing states, compared with 28 percent a year
earlier, the USDA said.
Corn,
soybeans
Corn for
May delivery was down 1.75 cents, or 0.3 percent, at
$6.0425 a bushel at 10:42 a.m. in Singapore after
gaining 2.4 percent yesterday, while soybeans for July
delivery fell 8.25 cents to $13.8875 a bushel. Corn
reached a record $6.16 on April 9 and soybeans touched
an all-time high of $15.8625 on March 3.
Wheat
for July delivery advanced 3.25 cents, or 0.4 percent,
to $9.1375 a bushel at 10:34 a.m. Singapore time. Wheat
reached a record $13.495 on February 27, after adverse
weather curbed production in the US, Canada and
Australia.
Kazakhstan,
the world’s fifth-biggest wheat exporter, will halt
shipments until September 1 to “ensure food security,”
Prime Minister Karim Masimo said. |
