US rough rice futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed sharply higher in light trade on Monday, following strong rallies in other grains, traders said. September rice ended 49-1/2 cents higher at $16.65-1/2 per hundredweight, with new-crop November up 48-1/2 cents at $16.92-1/2. Volume was thin at an estimated 645 futures and 38 options.
After the close, USDA said 72 percent of the US rice crop was rated good to excellent by Sunday, unchanged from the previous week. Harvest was under way. USDA said 8 percent of the crop was cut, compared with the five-year average of 10 percent. Pakistan likely to remove a minimum export price on rice to boost sales after forecasts of a bumper harvest, a top industry official said.