January rice closed up 7 cents per hundredweight at its session high of $7.90, while March closed up 6-1/2 cents at $8.16-1/2, just under its high of $8.17.
Light speculative selling sent prices to the day's lows shortly after the bell, but prices rebounded on buying by Man Financial, RJ O'Brien and Clayton Financial, traders said.
Buy-stops were hit in March rice between $8.13 and $8.17, with RJ O'Brien and Man Financial noted late buyers, traders said. Volume was light, estimated by the exchange at 951 futures and zero options.
The January/March spread traded at a carry of 26 to 27-1/2 cents, traders said.
In world rice news, Vietnam, the world's second-largest rice exporter after Thailand, said it will harvest 35.79 million tonnes of rice this year, down 1 percent from 2004 as some areas have been switched to other crops.
But higher rice demand in the region has prompted Vietnam to export record volumes this year at 5.2 million tonnes.