Rollercoaster week sees US maize end lower
By Joanna Levin
AFTER a roller-coaster week driven by weather concerns, Chicago corn (maize) futures closed yesterday (Monday) at $2.46/bushel (£1.47/bushel), 2.5¢ down on the week.
The past few days have seen maize prices fluctuate wildly as traders tried to second-guess the crops weather prospects. So far, spring planting progress is in line with the five-year average, but its still early days and only 5% of maize is in the ground.
Wet weather forecast for coming weeks could delay field work and drive futures higher. Now, though, it looks as though half this seasons maize will be planted by mid-May.
The USA issued a long-awaited $500 million (£299m) of additional export credits to South Korea last week, including $130m for feed grains and soyameal. But analysts say competing world grain stocks mean that the package is insufficient to significantly boost US exports.
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