US CIF corn and soyabean basis values held mostly steady on Monday following a sharp drop in barge freight last week, trader said. Soft and hard red winter wheat basis levels were also unchanged as strong export demand and tight global stocks sent futures prices higher.
Iraq issued a fresh wheat tender after buying 200,000 tonnes of US HRW wheat last week. Iraq gave no shipment period in the tender but an official said they wanted delivery in November.
World wheat stocks could grow even tighter as the crop in Australia suffers from lack of adequate rain and may be half the size originally forecast. In addition, Russian officials were preparing to curb exports, perhaps as early as this month, traders said.
Barge freight eased for a third consecutive day on Friday with more empty vessels available and rain in the Midwest forecast threatening to stall harvest and slow the movement of grain to river terminals, traders said. Harvest activity was expected to drive barge freight higher this month, traders said.
Corn export demand remained solid but soyabean demand has been slow due to more competitive prices in South America. Soyabean export demand was routine, but export sales could be helped by a think tank cutting forecasts for China's domestic soyabean crop. The China National Grain and Oils Information Center cut its 2007 soya crop forecast by 9.8 percent to 14.4 million tonnes, citing drought.
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