South African maize and wheat futures ended lower on Tuesday due to some of profit taking after good runs in the market the last couple of weeks.
“Today we saw a bit of profit taking and a stronger rand also put pressure on the wheat and maize market‚” said Andries van der Walt‚ trader at Vrystaat Mielies.
“SA had some drought‚ but 60% to 70% of the maize has been harvested and is in silo’s or at the end-users‚” he added.
The near-dated July white maize contract was down R15 at R2‚410 a ton and the September white maize contract shed 20c to R2‚436.80 a ton. December white maize lost R11 to R2‚490 a ton.
The near-dated July yellow maize contract shed R19.00 to R2‚358‚ while the September yellow maize contract added R3.80 to R2‚389.80 a ton. The December yellow maize contract lost R8.00 to R2‚436 a ton.
The July wheat contract lost R10.00 to R3‚329 a ton‚ September wheat shed R17 to R3‚383 a ton and the December wheat contract was down R27.00 at R3‚278 a ton.
Meanwhile US soybean futures jumped to settle at a new all-time high on Monday‚ as concerns continued to mount that a worsening drought in the Midwest could reduce the US crop’s yield‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported.
Chicago Board of Trade July soybeans‚ which were being thinly traded ahead of the contract's expiration on Friday‚ settled up 45 1/4 cents‚ or 2.8%‚ at US$16.65 a bushel‚ after trading as high as $16.79 1/2 a bushel during the session.
Analysts said soybean crops‚ unlike maize‚ could recover from the recent dry conditions if rain picked up in coming weeks‚ since the key growing period for soybeans is in August.
The price jump came as soybean traders waited for the US Department of Agriculture to release updated condition ratings for the crop‚ which showed after trading closed that just 40% of the soybean crop was in good or excellent condition‚ down from 45% a week ago. Analysts had expected the continued sharp decline.
Separately‚ maize futures jumped on Monday‚ also approaching all-time high levels due to worries about the Midwest drought.
CBOT July maize‚ a contract that expires on Friday‚ rose 32 cents or 4.3% to $7.75 1/4 a bushel. Wheat futures also rose‚ pulled up by maize prices and by flooding in southern Russia that disrupted logistics in the major exporter.
CBOT September wheat‚ the most actively traded month‚ rose 22 cents or 2.7% to $8.28 1/4 a bushel. - I-Net Bridge