CBOT rice futures end firm in thin trade

Rough rice futures at the Chicago Board of Trade settled higher on Thursday as local traders covered short positions ammid thin volume, traders said "Locals were lifting their short positions ... evening up. Buy stops were hit above $6.70 in March," a floor trader said. March rice closed 6 cents up at $6.73 per hundredweight and May settled 6-1/2 cents higher at $6.93-1/2. Volume was estimated at 497 futures and 196 options.
Most the volume was in spreads as firms rolled their March positions before first notice day for deliveries on February 28.
The market opened lower after a disappointing weekly export sales report.
The United States Department of Agriculture said 58,700 tonnes of United States rice was sold for export last week, 12 percent below the week before and 29 percent under the four-week average.