FOB Gulf corn and soyabean lower on thin demand

US FOB Gulf corn and soyabean basis offers were mostly steady on Wednesday, weighed by thin export demand and lower barge freight, traders said. Barge freight bids were 5-10 percentage points lower at St. Louis on the Mississippi River and the lower Ohio River. Bids on the Illinois were steady, trading at 235 percent of tariff. Poor export demand weighed on corn basis values, which were also pressured by lower barge freight and scattered movement. Basis values were down 1 to 1-1/2 cents a bushel, with CBOT futures slipping amid favourable crop weather in the Midwest.
There was also sporadic movement, traders said, although farmers in many areas were holding out for higher prices.
"Farmers are looking for better basis," a northern Midwest trader said, adding that farmers there offered to sell large quantities of grain if basis values moved up 4 cents a bushel.
"If I moved my basis up 4 cents, I can buy plenty of grain, mostly corn," the trader said, adding that favourable crop weather across the Midwest could spur old-crop sales.
Thin export demand weighed on soyabean basis offers, along with lower barge freight and some farmer selling.
Traders were keeping an eye on continued speculation that China would revalue its currency. There are market expectations that such a move could boost soya sales to China.
A trader said Chinese soya processors, who had bought some cargoes from Argentina last week, were largely absent from the market so far this week.
He said rumours of foot-and-mouth disease in China were not affecting prices, but added that it could slow Chinese demand for soya if the outbreaks led to the culling of livestock.
Hard and soft red winter wheat basis offers were mostly steady, with rains in parts of Kansas weighing futures.
Prices in the cash markets were underpinned by slow farmer selling. "Farmers are still waiting to see how this year's crop will turn out," a trader said, adding that exports were thin. The Commodity Credit Corp bought 92,580 tonnes of HRW wheat for donation to Ethiopia.