Chicago Board of Trade rough rice futures closed mostly firm on Wednesday on a short-covering bounce in pre-holiday trade after on Tuesday's slide to a three-week low, traders said.
But trade was slow in a shortened session before the US Thanksgiving holiday. The grain markets closed on Wednesday, at noon CST, and will remain closed on Thursday for the US Thanksgiving holiday. CBOT markets will also close on Friday. January rice settled 1 cent lower at $9.89 per hundredweight. The back months closed 5 cents higher to 2 cents lower.
Traders were covering short positions before the holiday. Commercial buying by Man Financial between $9.86 and $9.90 helped to underpin prices. In global news, the world's second largest rice exporter Vietnam relaxed its export restrictions to allow some loading of rice at ports.
But the move did not include any new deals. Vietnam rice exports have been halted since November 12 on worries about a smaller supply and higher domestic prices.