Chicago Board of Trade rough rice ended narrowly mixed on Friday after a session of very moderate two-sided speculative trade, brokers said.
CBOT rice futures closed up 1 cent to down 4 cents per hundredweight, with September up 1 cent at $7.75, and November down 3-1/2 cents at $7.75-1/2 per cwt. "There was selling of November by Cargill," one CBOT rice broker said.
"We then saw small speculative two-sided trade from Reface Inc., Man Financial and RJ O'Brien. Man Financial was a late buyer of September and November."
Spreads were not traded, he added. Light pressure lingered from Thursday's US Department of Agriculture monthly crop supply and demand report, which was termed "not friendly," for CBOT rice futures, one broker said.
The USDA estimated on Thursday 2004/05 US rice production at 221.6 million hundredweight, down from its estimate last month of 223 million cwt.
However, the USDA also forecast US 2004/05 rice ending stocks at 33.9 million cwt, up from its July estimate of 27.7 million cwt, and lowered its 2004/05 US rice export estimate to 107 million cwt from its July estimate of 114 million.
On Friday's estimated CBOT volume for rice futures was 151 contracts, compared with Thursday's trade of 137 lots. Options volume was seen at three lots.