CBOT rice futures firm

Rough rice futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed steady to higher on Tuesday on speculative buying and firm cash prices, traders said.
CBOT rice futures settled unchanged to up 6 cents per hundredweight, with November unchanged at $6.96 and January up 4 cents at $7.12. Cargill Investor Services bought November and January, with light buy stops triggered above the $7 level in November, brokers said.
Meanwhile, merchandisers have been buying Chicago Board of Trade warehouse receipts, representing rice held in exchange-approved warehouses in Arkansas using the rice to meet cash demand needs, the floor traders said.
The US rice harvest was nearly completed, the US Department of Agriculture reported late on Monday. USDA said 96 percent of the US rice harvest was done by Sunday, up from 91 percent the week before.
Estimated rough rice futures volume was 826 contracts, compared with 904 lots traded on Monday. Options trade was one lot.