US rough rice futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed mixed on Wednesday after a volatile session, with old-crop months gaining on new-crop, traders said. May rice ended 18-1/2 cents higher at $19.22 per hundredweight, after climbing to $19.53.
July rose the 50-cent limit before closing 20 cents up at $19.50. New-crop months, September 2008 to January 2009 ended 25 to 15 cents lower, after several back months made contract highs earlier.
Nearby months supported by tight global supplies amid firming Asian cash prices. Rice prices in Thailand, the top rice exporter, are "on fire," one trader said. New-crop months pressured by prospects that US farmers will be planting about 50,000 more rice acres this spring compared to the 2.761 million acres seeded in 2007. Volume was moderate, estimated at 1,274 futures and 79 options. Egypt is banning rice exports from April 1 to October to hold down local prices, a state news agency reported on Wednesday.