Johannesburg - South African white-corn futures increased the most in more than a week on speculation the 11 percent drop last week was overdone.
White corn for July delivery, the most active contract, rose 0.8 percent, the most since March 26, to 2,100.80 rand ($232) a metric ton by the close in Johannesburg. The yellow variety gained 0.3 percent to 2,075 rand a ton.
Both white and yellow corn snapped four days of declines. The relative strength index for white corn is at 38, the lowest since Feb. 13 and near the 30 level that is a technical signal to some analysts that an asset’s price has fallen too far and is posed to increase.
“Buyers are seeing value in the prices after last week’s lows,” Andrew Fletcher, an independent trader, said by phone from Kroonstad in the Free State.
In South Africa, white corn is a staple food, while the yellow variety is mainly used as animal feed. The nation is the continent’s largest producer of corn.
Wheat for May delivery increased slightly at 0.1 percent to 3,381 rand a ton. - Bloomberg News