Rough rice futures at the Chicago Board of Trade ended firm on Monday, following the day's trend in soyabean futures, which recovered after a lower open, traders said.
The rough rice market closed 11 to 13 cents per hundredweight higher in the front three months, with March up 11 at $7.87-1/2.
Rice futures opened lower following the trend in CBOT corn and soyabeans on feed demand jitters after one strain of bird flu was discovered in Delaware.
But soyabeans began to recover when it appeared that bird flu found in Delaware might be limited to one farm. Rice futures followed suit.
The Delaware strain of bird flu is not the same as the deadly Asian strain affecting poultry throughout Asia. But the discovery of the Delaware case sparked Japan and South Korea to ban US poultry exports over the weekend as a precaution.
On Monday Russia banned poultry imports from Delaware. A Delaware official said on Monday that poultry tested negative on five farms near the one, which had tested positive for a strain of bird flu.
Even though rice is typically grown for human consumption and not for use as a feedgrain, bird flu keeps the market edgy. Brazil said on Monday it banned imports of unmilled rice from Asian countries to prevent the spread of bird flu.
The weakness in rice sparked a continuation of long liquidation by commodity funds, traders said. But when soyabeans rallied rice turned higher and buy-stops were triggered in March above $7.80.