South African maize prices finished mostly higher on Thursday for the second straight session‚ tracking US prices amid some bargain hunting.
The US is used as a benchmark for world prices because of its status as the world’s largest producer and exporter of maize‚ which is an important input in a vast amount of food production.
White maize for December delivery‚ the most active contract on the South African Futures Exchange‚ rose 0.41% to close at R2‚450 a ton and yellow maize for December delivery gained 0.49% to R2‚440 a ton.
Wheat for December delivery lifted 1.28% to R3‚492 a ton.
“The US maize prices have been over extended on the upside due to low stocks-to-use ratio. A big percentage of their maize was affected by extreme temperatures and a lack of rain in recent months‚ which in turn affected the global balance sheet of the crop‚” said Piet Faure‚ a trader at CSJ Securities.
However‚ he said because of elevated prices in the US‚ buyers had switched their focus to other export producing countries such as Brazil and Argentina‚ which resulted in a substantial drop in the spot prices. Maize prices in the US have also coming under pressure due to the start of the harvest season. - I-Net Bridge