US rough rice futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher on Thursday, with the new-crop months gaining on the nearby for the second straight day, traders said. Rice was due for bounce, recovering from its big sell-off on Tuesday after USDA issued its bearish stocks data reflecting this season's poor export pace.
New-crop months of September forward saw double-digit gains amid concerns that US acres will be down this season, as other crops look more profitable, traders said. * This week's focus was the volatility in September-March spread. Traders rolled their March positions into September. Roughly 250 spreads traded.
September-March went to carry. March ended 4 cents up at $12.59-1/2 per hundredweight while September closed up 43 at $12.78-1/2. Price limits reverted back to 50 cents, from 75 cents since rice did see a limit move on Wednesday's close.
USDA reported that 49,900 tonnes of rice sold for export last week, up 21 percent from the previous week. Vietnam raise the floor price for exports of its top quality rice by 4.8 percent to $440 a tone -Vietnam Food Association. The Philippines has bought 1.5 million tonnes of Vietnamese rice at less than $500 per tonne on average -government.