Thai rice futures were mixed in sluggish and directionless trade on Friday, brokers said, with many players celebrating the Chinese All Souls Day religious festival. Players rushed to offset 15-tonne contracts to avoid risk while a few speculators bought small five-tonne contracts at a slightly higher price, they said.
The 15-tonne September contracts settled at 10.76 baht per kg, down from 10.90 baht, with 18 contracts traded. No 15-tonne September contract was traded on Thursday.
By contrast, only seven contracts of smaller 5-tonne contracts were traded on Friday as a few exporters were scouting rice to fill their stock.
The small November contracts settled at 11.14 baht per kg, up from 11.12 baht, with the number of contracts traded falling to 5 from Thursday's 29.
"All business activities were halted on Friday as most traders and exporters were cerebrating their All Souls Day," said another broker.