South African maize futures ended mixed on Thursday, with the yellow maize crop coming under a bit of pressure due to bigger farmer deliveries.
The May 2012 white maize contract was up R1 to R2,189 per ton, July 2012 white maize edged up R6 to R2,158 per ton, and September 2012 white maize rose R11.20 to R2,186.20 per ton, according to preliminary I-Net Bridge data.
The May 2012 yellow maize contract was, however, down R19.80 to R2,083.20 per ton, while the July 2012 yellow maize contract shed R8 to R2,097 per ton and the September 2012 yellow maize contract lost R15 to R2,118 per ton.
The May wheat contract gained R10 to R2,695 per ton, July wheat was up R11 to R2,750 per ton, while the September 2012 wheat contract was unchanged at R2,784.00 per ton.
“The short term trend is bearish for maize spot prices, given the current harvest period. Technically, we are still sitting in overbought territory,” said Theo Venter, maize trader at agribusiness, Senwes.
SA delivered 75,000 tons of maize in the week ended April 13, with white constituting 30,000 tons while the balance was yellow, according to SA Grain Information Service website.
Meanwhile, the nearby US corn futures dropped to a three-month low on Thursday, pressured by expectations for farmers to harvest a large US crop earlier than usual.
Corn for May delivery at the Chicago Board of Trade closed 2.4% lower $6.01 3/4 a bushel, the lowest settlement for the front-month contract since Jan. 18. December corn fell 1 cent to $5.28 3/4 a bushel.
Corn futures have struggled since the US Department of Agriculture last week left its domestic corn stockpile projection for the end of the marketing year unchanged, despite expectations for a cut. That led traders to shift their focus from tight on-hand supplies to forecasts for a large US crop this year - and for it to be harvested early, easing demand on tight supplies of corn harvested last year and being kept in storage. - I-Net Bridge