South African maize futures came under selling pressure on Wednesday due to maize deliveries to the silos picking up pace much earlier than usual due to dry weather conditions.
The near-dated May 2012 white maize contract slid R53 to R2,105 per ton, July 2012 white maize lost R57 to R2,062 per ton, and September 2012 white maize shed R47 to R2,093 per ton, according to preliminary I-Net Bridge data.
The near-dated May 2012 yellow maize contract was R63 weaker at R2,007 per ton, while the July 2012 yellow maize contract was down R52 to R2,020 per ton and the September 2012 yellow maize contract lost R59 to R2,051 per ton.
However, the May wheat contract gained R45 to R2,686 per ton, July wheat lifted R20 to R2,750 per ton, while the September 2012 wheat contract edged up R8 to R2,805 per ton.
Meanwhile, the US corn futures prices dipped on Tuesday, as a swift planting pace raises hope for U.S. corn inventories to double in the next year, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
The 2012 US planting season is off to a fabulous start, a feature that bolsters expectations of larger crop yields and a big fall harvest, said Dan Basse, president of advisory firm AgResource Co. in Chicago.
Farmers are already projected to plant the biggest U.S. corn crop in 75 years, according to the US Department of Agriculture. - I-Net Bridge