May 30, 2008

South African corn ends flat as output meets expectations

South African white corn was largely unchanged Thursday (May 29, 2008) as traders struggled for direction after the latest crop forecast data met expectations.

The benchmark white corn for July delivery ended 2 rand higher at ZAR1,790 a tonne and September white corn was down ZAR4 at ZAR1,841/tonne.

"Some guys were hoping that the CEC (Crop Estimates Committee) report would be a catalyst to break out of the range, but it was largely within the market's expectations," one trader said.

South Africa raised its 2008/09 corn output forecast by 3 percent to 11.3 million tonnes, in line with the average forecast of six traders polled by I- Net Bridge.