Maize and wheat lag US prices

Published Nov 19, 2012

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South African white maize closed the Monday session slightly higher‚ while yellow maize closed mixed‚ and wheat was lower‚ lagging Chicago Board of Trade (CBoT) figures.

“We lagged the US market‚ which closed quite a bit higher on Friday‚ while we drifted lower this morning. Rain is forecast for Thursday and into the weekend and that has put a damper on local prices‚” said Andrew Fletcher‚ trader at Unigrain in Kroonstad.

“The rand has also strengthened from Friday and this has put downward pressure on our local grain prices. There are also expectations for the dollar to weaken and that would put downward pressure on local grain prices‚” he added.

“We also have options closeout in two weeks’ time and that influences price‚” he added.

White maize for December delivery‚ the most active contract on the South African Futures Exchange‚ added R2 to close at R2‚439 a ton.

Yellow maize for December delivery‚ the most active contract for yellow maize‚ dipped R4 to close at R2‚489 a ton. The grain is used mainly as animal feed in SA.

Wheat for December delivery closed R35 lower at R3‚650 a ton.

US corn futures reversed losses made on Friday morning to settle higher‚ after the Environmental Protection Agency decided to deny a request to waive ethanol-blending requirements in the US‚ which could have reduced demand for corn‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported. Corn futures also rose on concerns that prices may have fallen too low to account for drought-reduced tight supplies.

CBoT December corn futures rose 5 3/4 cents or 0.8% to $7.27 a bushel.

Wheat futures fell on continued concern about weak export demand. The USDA last week cut its forecast for US wheat exports in the marketing year that began June 1. CBoT December wheat futures settle down 7 1/2 cents or 0.9% at $8.38 a bushel‚ a four-month low for the front-month contract. - I-Net Bridge

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