FOB Gulf corn and soyabean mostly steady

US FOB Gulf corn and soyabean basis offers were mostly steady on Tuesday, with dealers hoping for export demand to pick up following a sharp fall in CBOT futures.
Wheat basis offers were steady, shrugging off Egypt's purchase of 240,000 tonnes of supplies from Australia. It bought just 60,000 tonnes of US wheat at its tender.
The soyabean market was rife with talk that China had cancelled three cargoes of soyaoil from Argentina, and that the country cancelled one cargo of US soyabeans booked for shipment from the Pacific Northwest.
There was also talk that two companies were planning to import soyaoil into the United States from South America. The talk could not be independently confirmed.
The talk, however, pressured CBOT soya complex futures, with March soyabeans falling 31-1/4 cents to $9.31 a bushel. March soyaoil fell 1.22 cents to 33.35 cents a lb.
Dealers said there was a need for the market to "cool off" after climbing to multi-year highs amid tight US supplies and weather woes delaying the harvest in Brazil.
A dealer said the talk was that one company was planning to import two cargoes of 30,000 tonnes each for a food company, and that a second firm was looking to import 150,000 tonnes.
He said US soyaoil prices were quoted at around $777 per tonne FOB, which excludes shipping costs. That compared with around $650 per tonne for Argentine supplies.
Corn basis offers were steady, with dealers hoping for export demand to pick up following a fall in CBOT futures. March corn fell 6-1/2 cents to $2.89-1/2 a bushel.
"CIF basis values will remain soft until we see some fresh business," one dealer said. "With today's lower flat price, we are hoping to see some interest," he added.
Dealers said although the pace of farmer selling, which picked up last week as CBOT futures rallied, had slowed, there were adequate supplies in the export pipeline.
There was talk that some importers were heading to South America for corn supplies because of lower prices, but dealers said quantities available there were limited.