South African maize futures ended weaker on Tuesday, as market players cleared their positions ahead of the Crop Estimates Committees (CEC) report on summer and winter crops later in the day.
The March 2012 white maize contract shed R62 to R2,330 per ton, the May 2012 white maize lost R45 to R2,225 per ton, and July 2012 white maize dipped R24 to R2,035 per ton, according to preliminary I-Net Bridge data.
The March 2012 yellow maize contract was down R71 to R2,375 per ton, the May 2012 yellow maize contract dropped R37 to R2,148 per ton and the July 2012 yellow maize contract slipped R2 to R2,000 per ton.
The March wheat contract dipped R20 to R2,733 per ton, while May wheat slipped R21 to R2,803 per ton, and the July 2012 wheat contract was down R17 to R2,867 per ton.
“There are fears in the market that the report could come out bearish, which will put spot prices under pressure,” said Robert Steynberg, a trader at Vrystaat Koöperasie Beperk.
SA's maize plantings are likely to remain unchanged to slightly higher, when the CEC releases the revised area and first production forecasts on 2011-12 summer crops.
SA planted 2.630 million hectares of maize this season, up 10.9% from the previous season's 2.372 million hectares, the committee said last month in its first preliminary report.
Meanwhile, US soybean futures extended their recent rally on Monday, climbing to new five-month highs on strong export demand and declining South American crop forecasts, Dow Jones Newswires reports.
Soybeans have been grabbing the spotlight in the grain and oilseed complex over the past few weeks, due in large part to an increase in export demand.
Corn and wheat futures climbed with soybeans rebounding from early weakness tied to pressure from external financial markets. - I-Net Bridge