South African maize futures ended higher on Thursday, tracking world corn prices amid uncertainty over stock levels.
The March 2012 white maize contract jumped R80 to R2,287 per ton, the May 2012 white maize gained R50 to R2,130 per ton, the July 2012 white maize added R41 to R2,007 per ton, according to preliminary I-Net Bridge data.
The March 2012 yellow maize contract lifted R80 to R2,366 per ton, the May 2012 yellow maize contract was up R20 to R2,130 per ton and the July 2012 yellow maize contract rose R28 to R1,978 per ton.
The March wheat contract, however, edged down R12 to R2,738 per ton, while May wheat shaved off R5 to R2,840 per ton, and the July 2012 wheat contract was up R19 to R2,868 per ton.
“The bounce in US market provided good support for our market. The uncertainty over the size of the US corn planting and production sparked some buying interests,” said Andrew Fletcher, a trader with Unigrain.
US corn and wheat futures bounced back from previous losses on Wednesday, fuelled by traders taking profits on positions ahead of US government crop forecasts, scheduled for later in the day, the Dow Jones Newswires reports.
Traders taking profits on long soybean/short corn and wheat positions were key drivers of prices throughout the day.
Corn and wheat were oversold after both markets slumped in previous sessions in anticipation of bearish acreage and end of year inventory estimates from government forecasters, said John Kleist, analyst with ebottrading.com.
Traders had priced in some hefty acreage and supply estimates, but with questions regarding what the US Department of Agriculture will use for trend-line yields and demand, traders wanted to reduce some risk exposure, Kleist said.
“For the last two-weeks, corn and wheat have moved in the opposite direction of soybeans tied to the markets battling for spring acres,” said Dave Marshall, independent broker and marketing advisor in southern Illinois.
CBOT March corn ended 8 3/4 cents higher at $6.38 1/4 a bushel. - I-Net Bridge