US FOB Gulf corn basis offers were lower on Friday amid a lack of export demand due to high ocean freight, while soyabeans were steady, traders said. Basis values for corn fell 2 cents a bushel and by 7 to 8 cents in the CIF barge market for May and June positions.
Traders said ample supplies of corn at Gulf export elevators were contributing to the weakness. One trader said some buyers had sought to delay shipment of corn they had bought due to high ocean freight, which was quoted at $140 per tonne to Asia. Soft red winter wheat basis offers were down as much as 10 cents a bushel in the absence of export demand. Traders said SRW wheat prices needed to go even lower to be competitive with supplies from the Black Sea states. One trader said Black Sea wheat to Egypt, a major importer of SRW wheat, was about $50 per tonne cheaper.
Iraq tender to buy at least 50,000 tonnes of wheat closes on May 18, and traders were expecting it to buy US hard red winter wheat, along with supplies from Australia and Canada. Soyabean basis offers were mostly steady, underpinned by a pick up in demand, especially from China. USDA reported the sale of 253,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to China for delivery in the 2008/09 season starting September 1.
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