South African maize futures ended mixed on Monday in thin trade.
The January 2012 white maize contract edged up R7 to R2,730 per ton, but the March 2012 white maize contract fell R4 to R2,679 per ton, while July 2012 white maize shed R1 to R2,100 per ton, according to preliminary I-Net Bridge data.
The January 2012 yellow maize contract ended R25 higher at R2,750 per ton, the March 2012 yellow maize picked up R3 to R2,625 per ton and the July 2012 yellow maize contract lifted R17 to R2,060 per ton.
The January wheat contract added R23.20 R2,763.20 per ton, while the March wheat firmed R27 to R2,818 per ton, and the July 2012 wheat contract was unchanged at R2,865 per ton.
At 12:00 when the local grain market closed, the rand was at R8.14 to the US dollar from R8.17 previously.
“There were no fireworks today, as most players slowly return from the December holiday break. We have got the US Department of Agriculture supply and demand report this week, which could provide some direction in the near term regarding maize,” a local dealer said.
Meanwhile, Dow Jones Newswires reported that US grain and soybean futures ended lower on Friday, extending the week's lower trend, as traders continued to reduce risk in the absence of fresh supportive news.
Investors were active sellers in soybeans and wheat for most of the day, as both markets lacked the fundamental strength to support higher price levels.
“Its hard to justify prices rallying to multi-week highs recently, particularly without strong commodity demand for soybeans and wheat,” said John Kleist, senior analyst with ebottrading.com.
Corn futures slumped late in the trading session, but remained the strongest market in the grain complex. There is enough uncertainty in weather forecasts for South America to underpin prices, McCambridge said.
Argentina is the world's No 2 corn exporter behind the US, and any reduction in production there could increase demand for already tight projected US supplies. - I-Net Bridge