"When we couldn't really follow through with yesterday's rally, I think we saw some late profit-taking come into the market," said Jack Scoville, an analyst with the Price Futures Group.
January rice closed down 7 cents per hundredweight at $7.92, while March closed down 11-1/2 cents at $8.15.
Volume was estimated by the exchange at 1,327 futures and 132 options.
Traders were expecting first-day deliveries of up to 200 lots of rice against the January contract on Friday.