South African maize futures ended in the red on Thursday, pushed down by the rand/US dollar strength during the session.
The March 2012 white maize contract shed R56 to R2,470 per ton, the May 2012 white maize tumbled R80 to R2,283 per ton, and July 2012 white maize lost R37 to R1,962 per ton, according to preliminary I-Net Bridge data.
The March 2012 yellow maize contract was down R80 to R2,470 per ton, May 2012 yellow maize contract came off R73.20 to R2,215.80 per ton and the July 2012 yellow maize contract lost R38 to R1,932 per ton.
The March wheat contract was flat at R2,829 per ton, while May wheat edged up R3.80 to R2,882.80 per ton, and the July 2012 wheat contract was unchanged at R2,905 per ton.
When the local grains market closed, the rand was at 7.69 to the dollar, from 7.77 the previous session.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that US grain and soybean futures ended higher on Wednesday, rallying for the second straight day, with a weaker dollar and global crop concerns fuelling advances.
Soybean futures continued to recover from declines earlier in the week, with buyers energised by confirmation of fresh Chinese export demand and lingering uncertainty about South American crops.
News that China purchased 120,000 metric tons of US soybeans was welcome news for the market, said Mike Zuzolo, president Global Commodity Analytics and Consulting. “The announced sale was confirmation of the US's number 1 export demand base returning after the Lunar New Year holidays,” Zuzolo said.
Analysts had anticipated fresh demand arising from a jump in export basis levels on Tuesday and needed that validation, he added. - I-Net Bridge