Johannesburg - South African white corn futures gained to a four-week high as a drop in the rand against the dollar made imports more expensive.
White corn for delivery in July, the most active contract, rose 1 percent to 2,228 rand ($230) a metric ton, the highest settlement since April 30.
The yellow variety for delivery the same month rose 1.4 percent to 2,211.20 rand a ton.
The rand weakened to a four-year low after a report that economic growth in South Africa slowed in the first quarter.
The rand fell 1.1 to 9.7166 per dollar.
“The weak rand has affected today’s price,” Brink van Wyk, a trader at BVG, said by phone from Pretoria.
South Africa is the continent’s biggest producer of the grain.
Meal made from white corn is one of the nation’s staple food and the yellow variety is mainly used as animal feed.
The nation exported 47,075 tons of white corn to Mexico in the week to May 24, the Pretoria-based South African Grain Information Service said.
Wheat for delivery in July rose 0.4 percent to 3,589 rand a ton. - Bloomberg News