US rice futures on the Chicago Board of Trade tumbled 3 percent on Wednesday, pressured by a firmer dollar and weak Asian cash prices amid rising global supplies, traders said. Rice and other CBOT grains declined after Chinese authorities moved to curb lending to prevent their economy from overheating.

CBOT March rice fell 43 cents, 3.09 percent, to end at $13.49 per hundredweight. The contract bottomed at $13.45-1/2, the lowest spot price on a continuous chart since October 27, 2009. CBOT estimated volume Wednesday at 1,643 rice futures and 115 options.

Increasing supply pushes Asian rice prices down. Philippines' paddy rice output seen down 1.7 percent in first-half 2010 due to dry spell - government. USDA left its weekly world price for long grain rough rice unchanged at $13.02 per cwt.

Copyright Reuters, 2010