CHICAGO: Export premiums for corn rose at the US Gulf Coast on Wednesday amid solid demand, while wheat premiums were mostly steady, traders said.
Demand for corn was firm as futures prices hovered near a three-year low due to a massive harvest underway in the United States, the world's top grain exporter.
Harvesting was expected to slow across a broad swath of the US Midwest during the next few days due to rain. However, a forecaster said drier weather by Friday would allow farmers to quickly resume their combining.
A large book of sales has export loadings for corn and soy effectively sold out at least through next month, traders said.
The US Department of Agriculture plans to release three weeks' worth of US export sales data in a single report on Thursday, including sales reported during the 16-day partial government shutdown in October.
Analysts estimated the USDA will report corn sales of 1.9 million to 2.5 million tonnes for net weekly export sales for the three weeks. Wheat sales were estimated at 1.5 million to 2 million tonnes, and soybean sales were seen as 2.4 million to 3 million tonnes.
Strong basis levels at US corn ethanol and soy processing plants helped support firm export premiums, traders said.
The US Energy Information Administration on Friday said 510 million pounds of soybean oil were consumed in August for biodiesel, the most since December 2011.
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