South African maize and wheat prices made modest gains on Wednesday‚ due to rand weakness and slightly higher Chicago Board of Trade (CBoT) grain prices‚ which gained on higher soybean prices in the US.
“The maize and wheat prices are slightly higher on higher Chicago prices and the rand being at the R8.90 level is supportive. It was a very lacklustre and quiet trading day with low volumes. There is not a lot of news out there‚” said Rudi Swanepoel‚ trader at Farmwise Grains in Johannesburg.
White maize for December delivery‚ the most active contract on the South African Futures Exchange‚ added R7 to close at R2‚455 a ton.
Yellow maize for December delivery‚ the most active contract for yellow maize‚ gained R12 to close at R2‚509 a ton. The grain is used mainly as animal feed in SA.
Wheat for December delivery closed R16 higher at R3‚648 a ton.
Meanwhile US grain and soybeans rose on Tuesday‚ led by technical trading and short-covering in a low-volume session‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported. Soybeans for January delivery at the Chicago Board of Trade closed up 18 cents‚ or 1.3%‚ to $14.12 3/4 a bushel.
The strength in soybeans pulled grain futures higher‚ as December corn ended up 4 1/2 cents‚ or 0.6%‚ to $7.43 1/4. December wheat climbed 3 1/4 cents to $8.45.
The market's technical outlook‚ along with the uncertainty headed into the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday‚ prompted some traders to cover short positions‚ analysts said. - I-Net Bridge