Johannesburg – Maize prices jumped to yet another SA Futures Exchange-imposed maximum daily limit gain of R80 on longer-dated contracts on Thursday in line US corn prices.
This is the second time in a week that maize futures have hit the limit.
Price limits‚ however‚ doesn’t apply to shorter-dated maize contracts.
Grain prices, which have risen to the highest level for the year thus far, pose upside risks to consumer price index (CPI) inflation outlook‚ said Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus‚ in her monetary policy committee (MPC) speech on Thursday.
The US maize crop, in its sensitive pollination phase, is suffering from heat stress‚ which could impact on expected yields.
The near-dated July white maize contract rallied R103 to R2‚690 a ton and the September white maize contract surged R80 to R2‚695 a ton. December white maize lifted R80 to R2‚738 a ton.
The near-dated July yellow maize contract soared R106 to R2‚661 a ton‚ the September yellow maize contract rose up R80 to R2‚631 a ton‚ while the December yellow maize contract shed R80 to R2‚660 a ton.
The July wheat contract climbed R129 to R3‚544 a ton‚ the September wheat contract was up R100 to R3‚550 a ton‚ and the December wheat contract rallied R100 to R3‚479 a ton.
The US is the world’s largest producer and exporter of maize‚ which is an important input in a vast amount of food production. These include‚ among others‚ millers‚ the animal feed and poultry industries.
US corn futures traded at record-high levels on Thursday‚ boosted by the idea that higher prices are still needed to reduce demand as a drought shrinks the expected size of the US harvest‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported.