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RICE
futures in Chicago soared for a fourth day to a record
as
Turkey
and the Philippines tendered to buy the grain amid
dwindling global supplies. Wheat, corn and soybeans also
gained.
Rice
futures doubled in the past year after countries
including Vietnam, China, Egypt and India curbed exports
to meet domestic demand. The
Philippines
plans to buy 500,000 metric tons both today and on May
5.
Turkey’s State Grain Board may purchase as much as 180,000
tons of rice to curb prices.
“Some
importers, especially in Southeast Asia, are feeling
pinched as supplies are very tight,” Shuji Sugata,
research manager at Mitsubishi Corp. Futures &
Securities Ltd. in Tokyo, said by phone Thursday.
“Anything related to buying tenders can easily lift the
rice price as the market is very thin.”
Rough
rice for May delivery rose 45 cents, or 2 percent, to
$23 per 100 pounds in after-hours electronic trading on
the Chicago Board of Trade at 10:41 a.m. Singapore time.
Rice for July delivery was up 45 cents at $23.325.
China,
India and Vietnam have restricted or banned exports.
The
Philippines is intensifying efforts to crack down on
rice hoarding. The government is targeting “unscrupulous
traders together with their accomplices in the
bureaucracy,” President Arroyo said on April 15.
Wheat
advances
Wheat
for July delivery advanced as much as 10 cents, or 1.1
percent, to $9.49 a bushel and traded at $9.46 at 10:46
a.m. Singapore time. Wheat, which reached a record
$13.495 on February 27, has almost doubled after adverse
weather curbed production in the
US,
Canada and Australia.
In the
export market,
South Korea
was seeking to buy 22,000 tons of US wheat Thursday.
Japan
planned to buy 88,000 tons of wheat, including 42,000
tons from the US, and another 12,885 tons Friday.
Corn for
May delivery rose as much as 3.25 cents, 0.5 percent, to
$6.0675 a bushel and traded at $6.055 at 10:50 a.m. in
Singapore. The contract reached a record $6.16 on April
9. The grain for July delivery was up 2 cents at $6.19.
Soybeans
for July delivery gained as much as 17.25 cents, or 1.3
percent, to $13.7825 a bushel and last traded at
$13.765. The contract, which touched an all-time high of
$15.8625 on March 3, lost 2.6 percent Wednesday on
speculation a slow start to U. corn planting may spur
farmers to shift to the oilseed. (Bloomberg)
****
THE
Philippines is set to buy 325,750 metric tons (MT) of
rice offered in a tender Thursday, even as the average
price of rice went up to an average of $1,090 per MT.
The
price offer is more than 50-percent higher than the $708
per MT offered in a tender last month.
“The
price is high but we have a directive to keep on buying
rice until we secure the volume of 2.1 million MT for
the year,” explained National Food Authority Deputy
Administrator Ludivico Jarina.
The
government opened an auction for around 500,000 MT of
rice, but the volume offered Thursday only proved that
rice is in short supply. Some 12 agencies participated
in the bid.
The bulk
of the volume that the Philippines will buy was cornered
by Thailand which will supply a total of 195,000 MT, of
which 35,000 MT is 5-percent broken and 160,000 MT
25-percent broken.
About
80,000 MT will be supplied by Vietnam, 25,000 MT by
Pakistan and the remaining 25,750 MT will be sourced
from other countries. (J.A. Ng) |
