Johannesburg - White corn in South Africa, the continent’s biggest producer of the grain, declined on speculation an increase to a record was overdone.
White corn for delivery in March dropped 0.4 percent to 2,937 rand ($272) a metric ton by 11:17 a.m. on the South African Futures Exchange in Johannesburg.
Prices touched an all- time high of 2,999 rand on January 6.
The 14-day relative strength index for the grain was at 72.
A reading above 70 is an indication to technical analysts that the price is poised to drop.
The RSI has been above that level since December 20.
South Africa’s white-corn harvest last year was the smallest since 2007, dropping 20 percent from 2012 after too little rain fell, the Crop Estimates Committee said in November.
A lack of water in key growing regions in this planting period may affect yields in the current season and raise prices, according to Grain SA, which represents commercial farmers.
South African yellow corn for delivery in March declined 0.6 percent to 2,728 rand a ton.
Wheat for delivery the same month rose 0.5 percent to 3,710 rand a ton. - Bloomberg News