South African maize futures ended mostly positive on Friday, tracking a strong finish on the Chicago Board of Trade.
The March 2012 white maize contract was up R9 to R2,555 per ton, the May 2012 white maize edged up R64 to R2,325 per ton, and July 2012 white maize inched up R40.20 to R2,185.20 per ton, according to preliminary I-Net Bridge data.
The March 2012 yellow maize contract was down R12 to R2,358 per ton, the May 2012 yellow maize contract gained R23 to R2,200 per ton and the July 2012 yellow maize contract fell R50 to R1,900 per ton.
The March wheat contract was up R18 to R2,703 per ton, May wheat was up R18 to R2,756 per ton as was the July 2012 wheat contract, which lifted R9 to R2,800 per ton.
“We followed Chicago. The rain predicted was spot on. We thought that everything would go up today but the yellow went down, I think there are either import issues or some yellow is being harvested right now,” a trader said.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that US grain and soybean futures rallied on Thursday amid supply concerns and technical buying, traders said.
Soybean futures hit another fresh six-month high, with front-month soybeans for May delivery at the Chicago Board of Trade ending up 18 3/4 cents at $13.69 per bushel.
It's the 24th time in the last 32 trading days that soybeans settled higher.
Weekly export sales reported by the USDA Thursday morning gave new fuel to the bull market, analysts said.
Soybeans' relentless climb is also being driven by the unusually warm early spring weather, which analysts say could be prompting farmers to plant corn early. The concern is that this could result in fewer soybean acres, said Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodity Analytics and Consulting.
Despite the bullish sentiment in the market, some analysts such as Zuzolo are warning that the market could be primed for a big retreat.
Zuzolo said he expects that once the soybeans establish a top that there will be “a sharp, commodity-fund led drop which will likely erase in several sessions what was built up over several months.”
Soybeans' recent strength is also underpinning the grains generally. CBOT May corn ended up 10 1/4 cents to $6.69 a bushel, with help from near-term supply concerns and technical buying after the market pushed above its 200-day moving average.
Also, while this year's corn acreage is likely to be large, plantings could slip if soybean prices continue to surge, giving farmers a profitable option other than corn, said Shawn McCambridge, senior grains analyst with Jefferies Bache.
“It's definitely something that's a growing concern,” he said.
Wheat futures were also higher Thursday, with the CBOT May contract ending up 21 cents at $6.64 3/4 a bushel. - I-Net Bridge