South African maize futures ended mostly positive on Tuesday, drawing some support from the below potential rainfall forecast in the near term.
The March 2012 white maize contract slid R40 to R2,445 per ton, the May 2012 white maize lifted R19 to R2,214 per ton, the July 2012 white maize added R33 to R2,041 per ton, according to preliminary I-Net Bridge data.
The March 2012 yellow maize contract shed R32 to R2,515 per ton, the May 2012 yellow maize contract gained R38 to R2,185 per ton and the July 2012 yellow maize contract picked up R26 to R1,996 per ton.
The March wheat contract edged up R16 to R2,795 per ton, while May wheat inched up R6 to R2,840 per ton, and the July 2012 wheat contract was up R10 to R2,880 per ton.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that US grain and soybean futures ended higher on Monday, driven by broad-based commodity buying on weakness in the US dollar.
The three major crops - corn, wheat and soybeans - were all propelled upward by general strength across asset classes.
Commodities in general rallied as worries about Europe's sovereign-debt crisis abated for now following Greece's adoption of austerity measures. The move by Greece's Parliament paves the way for members of the European Union to bail out Greece from its debt crisis.
Soybean futures led the advances in the Chicago Board of Trade grain markets, climbing near four-month highs. Soybeans garnered additional support from lingering worries about South American crops.
CBOT March soybeans ended 23 cents, or 1.9%, higher at US$12.52 a bushel.
Stressful heat is returning to southern Brazil this week, raising fears of further yield losses, a feature that could boost importers' interest in securing US exports.
CBOT March corn ended 7 3/4 cents higher at $6.39 1/2 a bushel. - I-Net Bridge