US rough rice futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher on Monday after a lightly traded session, supported by the strength in other grain markets, traders said. Stability in financial markets amid signs of more thawing in credit markets lent support to the grains.
November rice ended 10 cents higher at $15.14-1/2 per hundredweight; January was up 14-1/2 at $15.42-1/2. Volume was light estimated at 399 futures and 26 options. November/January rice spread widened 4-1/2 cents as firms liquidated and rolled November positions.
There were 193 November deliveries, which were met by scattered stoppers. Thailand said it would dump 3.1 million tonnes of rice on the market from its stockpiles, equivalent to roughly one-third of its 2007 exports, to clear warehouses for a new buying scheme.