Chicago Board of Trade rough rice futures ended lower on Friday on scattered speculative selling, but volume was thin, traders said. The declines were in line with a weak close across the CBOT grains floor, due in part to a rally in the US dollar. Strength in the dollar makes US products less competitive on the world market.
January rice closed 9 cents lower at $9.82 per hundredweight, with the back months down 1 to 9 cents. Volume was estimated on Friday at 224 futures, down from Thursday's official tally of 605. Man Financial bid for January at the session low of $9.80. In world news, Russia will gradually restart imports of rice, stopped from Monday on health grounds, through a reduced number of ports, the country's animal and plant health watchdog said.