The USDA’s December WASDE report released on Tuesday showed a slightly more burdensome U.S. rice balance sheet. The agency lowered its U.S. import forecast by 1 million cwt due to a sluggish import pace.

However, exports were reduced by 2 million cwt due to sluggish sales of rough rice to Mexico and other Latin American countries. Lowered exports led to an increased ending stocks forecast of 52.9 million cwt, bringing the stocks-to-use ratio to 20.3 percent, which was slightly behind last season.

Domestic supplies are expected to outweigh U.S. demand and exports this season, which have led to multi-year low prices. January rough rice futures traded steady on Tuesday, closing at $10.09 per cwt. Last week, prices fell to their lowest since February 2019 on a continuous chart basis.
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PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. FUTURES TRADING INVOLVES SUBSTANTIAL RISK AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.