SA maize and wheat closed Thursday’s session higher‚ tracking Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) figures higher and due to a bit of rand support‚ after the currency weakened marginally during the trading session on Thursday.
“There is quite a bullish sentiment in the market. Maize and wheat are up on Chicago figures and a rand that weakened lightly during the trading session today. Our prices have been lower for quite a while and we are beginning to close the gap with US prices‚” said Brink van Wyk‚ trader at BVG Commodities in Pretoria.
White maize for December delivery‚ the most active contract on the South African Futures Exchange‚ added R42 to close at R2‚478 a ton. Meal made from the grain is SA’s staple food.
Yellow maize for December delivery‚ the most active contract‚ gained R28 to close at R2‚503 a ton. The grain is used mainly as animal feed in SA.
Wheat for December delivery added R13 to close at R3‚571 a ton.
“SA’s weather has been good with good rain in the Mpumalanga area; maize planting started about a week ago and is continuing as we speak‚” he said.
“SA is exporting a fair bit of white maize to Mexico at the moment‚ as our prices are good and we are getting rid of our small surplus in the product. SA has adequate maize supplies at the moment. With these exports to Mexico‚ white maize supply in SA is dropping‚ and the price might begin to rise again. In the same situation last year‚ it went up to as much as R2‚800 a ton‚” he added.
US grain and soybean futures rose on Wednesday‚ boosted by a mix of technical buying and worries about tight supplies‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported.
December corn futures settled up 7 1/4 cents‚ or 1.0%‚ at $7.45 1/2 a bushel.
CBOT December wheat settled up 8 1/2 cents‚ or 1.0%‚ at $8.56 1/4 a bushel.
Traders are unsure how big the US corn and soybean crops will ultimately be‚ as they wait for farmers to finish harvesting and the US government to give final production estimates. Some traders say higher prices are still needed to curb demand after the severe US drought widely damaged crops this year‚ reducing available supplies.
Traders are also monitoring threats to world production of wheat‚ ranging from dryness in Australia and the US Plains to excessive rain in Argentina. - I-Net Bridge