South African maize futures ended broadly firmer on Friday, with the yellow maize nearby contract receiving more buying interest.
Andrew Fletcher, maize trader at Unigrain, said market players were positioning themselves ahead of the Crop Estimates Committee's (CEC) report on the summer crops on Tuesday.
Hectares planted to maize are set to remain unchanged or be slightly lower than the previous forecast when the committee releases the first preliminary report for 2012 next week.
The CEC only released the intentions-to-plant report in October, which estimated 2.602 million hectares in the 2011-12 season, an increase of 9.7% compared with the previous period.
The January 2012 white maize contract was down R80 to R2,750 per ton, but March 2012 white maize contract lifted R5 to R2,640 per ton, July 2012 white maize gained R32 to R1,962 per ton, according to preliminary I-Net Bridge data.
The January 2012 yellow maize contract rallied R90 to R2,930 per ton, the March 2012 yellow maize was up R25 to R2,645 per ton and the July 2012 yellow maize contract lifted R15 to R1,922 per ton.
The January wheat contract was down R12 to R2,710 per ton, while March wheat lost R7 to R2,755 per ton, and the July 2012 wheat contract was flat at R2,850 per ton.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that US grain and soybean futures rallied on Thursday, driven by export sales, a strengthening cash basis and weakness in the US dollar.
Corn futures once again took a leadership role in the grain markets, with traders encouraged about new demand and tight available domestic stocks boosting cash prices.
CBOT March corn climbed 2.1% to $6.06 a bushel.
“Corn saw good export demand step-into the market before Thursday's opening, allowing the feed-grain to post one of the best days in about two weeks,” said Mike Zuzolo, president Global Commodity Analytics and Consulting.
“After Egypt bought corn on Wednesday, we then saw South Korea and Mexico step-in for 2011 crop corn before the opening on Thursday,” Zuzolo said.
Analysts are encouraged about export potential, with US corn prices more competitive in world markets. Bullish traders have been waiting for demand to shift to the US as prices drop and South America production prospects look weak. - I-Net Bridge