US Midwest bids mostly steady

Corn and soyabean spot basis bids held mostly steady around the US Midwest on Thursday as futures drifted lower and farmer sales of both crops remained slow, grain merchants said. Corn and soyabean sales limited to freshly harvested supplies that farmers cannot store.
A dealer at a northern Ohio elevator said some commercial firms were active sellers of corn and soyabeans in recent days but there were few sales from farmers, who are holding out for higher prices. Corn bids firmed in Toledo, Ohio, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, and eased in Blair, Nebraska. Soyabean bids fell on the Mississippi River while barge freight costs climbed on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. Harvest of both corn and soyabeans nearing completion under generally favourable conditions across the Midwest.