Johannesburg - South African wheat futures declined the most in almost two weeks as the strengthening rand made imports cheaper.
Wheat for delivery in July declined 1.8 percent to 3,530 rand ($354) a metric ton, the biggest drop since June 12, on the South African Futures Exchange.
South Africa’s currency strengthened against the dollar for a third day, the longest streak on gains since April 25.
“The rand had something to do with today’s drop in wheat prices,” Thys Grobbelaar, an analyst at Klerksdorp, South Africa-based Senwes Ltd., said by phone today.
South Africa, a net importer of wheat, is sub-Saharan Africa’s largest producer of the grain after Ethiopia and the region’s biggest importer after Nigeria and Sudan, according to US Department of Agriculture data.
The nation imported 11,347 tons of wheat from Australia and 12,007 tons from Uruguay in the week to June 21, the South African Grain Information Service said on its website.
White corn for delivery in July gained 0.2 percent to 2,300 rand a ton and the yellow variety increased 0.3 percent to 2,275 rand a ton. - Bloomberg News