Johannesburg - South African corn futures gained to the highest level in more than a week, tracking the price in Chicago that advanced a second day.
Yellow corn for delivery in July rose 0.8 percent to 2,230 rand ($205) a metric ton, the highest settlement since March 13, by the midday close in on the South African Futures Exchange in Johannesburg.
White corn gained 0.7 percent to 2,140 rand a ton, also the highest closing price in more than a week.
“In America, the price was high and this is still due to the case of Ukraine problems,” Thys Grobbelaar, an analyst at Klerksdorp, South Africa-based Senwes Ltd., said by phone.
Corn for May delivery rose for a second session, increasing 1.8 percent to $4.875 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade by 9 a.m., on speculation that demand will increase for supplies from the US.
Exporters in the US sold 340,000 tons of corn to Egypt for delivery by August 31, according to the Department of Agriculture.
The US and Europe are “united in imposing a cost” on Russia for its actions in Ukraine, US President Barack Obama said today.
World leaders gathered in The Hague to discuss the Ukraine crisis amid growing concern over a Russian buildup on its neighbour’s border and as pro-Kremlin troops seized a Ukrainian base in Crimea.
Ukraine was the third-biggest corn shipper in 2013-14, according to USDA data.
South Africa is the continent’s largest producer of corn.
White corn is the source for a meal that’s a staple food in the country, while the yellow variety is mainly fed to animals.
Wheat gained 0.7 percent to 4,199 rand a ton, extending a climb to the highest in almost six years. - Bloomberg News