US rough rice futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended higher Monday on a rebound from a nine-month low hit during Asian trading hours, traders said. Firmness in rice along with other CBOT grains stemmed from early stability in the financial markets.
November rice ended 20-1/2 cents up at $14.62 per hundredweight. January ended 23-1/2 higher at $14.91-1/2. Dow industrials were up about 120 points when CBOT grains closed. Later, the Dow fell to close down 203 points. November-January spread widened out 3 cents, trading between 26-30 cents, settling at 29-1/2-cent premium January.
About 460 spreads traded -traders Spread active before first position day for November deliveries on Thursday. USDA to issue corrected October crop report at 8:30 am EDT (1230 GMT) Tuesday. USDA reported late Monday that 95 percent of the rice crop was harvested, near the five-year pace of 96 percent. Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, plans to barter rice for oil from Iran, its commerce minister said.