US FOB Gulf soyabean basis offers were lower on Tuesday in line with declines in the CIF market amid ample supplies, while corn was steady to higher.
Traders said hard and soft winter wheat values were steady, supported by slow movement, but both markets lacked fresh export interest.
Soyabean basis offers dropped by as much as 7 cents a bushel, weighed by declines in the CIF market, which supplies grain export terminals at the Gulf Coast.
Traders said soyabean basis values in the CIF market ended a volatile session lower after rebounding from early declines.
CBOT soyabeans rallied for a second day on Tuesday amid renewed buying by commodity funds. Farmer selling picked up in the afternoon, but amounts were smaller than on Monday.
"Today you saw a little bit but not as much as yesterday," a trader said.
Traders said there was talk that China bought a cargo of US soyabeans for shipment from the Pacific Northwest. They said the country also bought a South American cargo.
US soyabeans were facing stiff competition from Brazil and Argentina at a time when the United States typically dominates the export market.
There was talk that China had recently purchased an Argentine cargo of soyabeans for January shipment, traders said, adding that the export window for US soyabeans seem to be narrowing due to large carry-over supplies in South America. Corn basis offers were steady to higher, supported by gains in the CIF market from slow farmer selling.
There was a lack of tenders from Asian buyers like Taiwan and South Korea.
"It's been real slow," said a corn trader.
CBOT corn closed about a penny higher but did not spark any farmer selling.
Barge freight on the Illinois River was steady after rising sharply in the past week as ice conditions made navigation risky.
US Coast Guard officials said ice up to eight inches thick reached three-quarters of the way across a narrow section of the Illinois River, just south of a wide spot known as Lake Peoria. Warmer temperatures and run-off from industrial plants were helping to melt the ice, but traffic remained one-way in that 10-mile stretch.
Barge freight was steady on the lower Ohio River and offers were up slightly on the lower Mississippi River at St. Louis.
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