South African maize futures ended weaker on Wednesday, with the old crop contracts bearing the most selling pressure in line with international corn prices.
The March 2012 white maize contract slid R80 to R2,383 per ton, the May 2012 white maize lost R20 to R2,210 per ton, the July 2012 white maize shed R13 to R2,026 per ton, according to preliminary I-Net Bridge data.
The March 2012 yellow maize contract dived R74 to R2,453 per ton, the May 2012 yellow maize contract slipped R34 to R2,150 per ton and the July 2012 yellow maize contract dipped R17 to R1,982 per ton.
The March wheat contract edged down R15 to R2,774 per ton, while May wheat lost R10 to R2,830 per ton, and the July 2012 wheat contract was unchanged at R2,880 per ton.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that US grain and soybean futures ended mixed on Tuesday, with soybeans managing to climb near four-month highs for the third straight trading day.
Soybean advances were driven by speculative buying, fuelled by uncertainty about Brazil crop potential and fresh export demand.
“Soybean prices pushed higher today as crop conditions continue to deteriorate in southern Brazil, with triple-digit heat expected during the last half of this week,” said Arlan Suderman, analyst with Farm Futures, an agricultural publication.
Corn and wheat futures ended lower, succumbing to traders taking profits on Monday's strong gains. A firm US dollar produced general weakness across many commodities.
Wheat futures drew added pressure from record-projected Australian wheat production and lingering pressure from US Depart of Agriculture reporting world wheat ending stocks to swell to record levels at the end of the 2011-12 marketing year. - I-Net Bridge