South Africa's Crop Estimates Committee held its 2005 maize forecast steady at 11.52 million tonnes on Thursday, surprising traders who had expected the figure to continue surpassing a 10-year peak. Crop Estimates Committee Chairman Rodney Dredge attributed the unchanged figure to insufficient data but said a clearer picture would emerge as harvesting picked up. "The farmers are starting to harvest at the moment so we haven't got substantial data to make any change," Dredge said. "They've harvested in some places 10 percent, 5 percent. Next month we'll have a much better idea."
The figures were released after the market had closed at 1000 GMT but traders said it could boost prices on Friday, as the market had anticipated the figure to keep climbing.
The July white maize contract closed 17 rand or 2.94 percent weaker at 561 rand a tonne. Yellow maize ended 16 rand or 2.64 percent softer at 590 rand.
Maize crop estimates have risen consistently this season.
Comments
Comments are closed.