Rough rice futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher on Friday, rebounding on bargain-hunting by commercial firms after a steep, speculative sell-off on Thursday, traders said. September rice closed up 7 cents at $10.36 per hundredweight but stayed inside of Thursday's trading range.
November rose 7 cents to end at $10.68, and back months was up 4 to 6 cents. MF Global and locals were noted buyers, while RJ O'Brien and Rosenthal Collins sold at the day's highs, traders said. Spreading remained active as traders continued rolling September positions forward ahead of first notice day.
The September/November spread traded at a carry of 32-1/2 cents. Traders said spreads accounted for roughly half the day's trading volume, which was estimated by the CBOT at 663 rice futures and 18 options.
Traders were monitoring Hurricane Dean, which blew into the Caribbean islands on Friday and was heading for the Gulf of Mexico. If the storm tracks north, it could stall harvesting and threaten crop quality in the US rice belt.