Spot basis bids for soyabeans and corn were mostly unchanged around the US Midwest early on Monday but a downturn in overnight futures trading was expected to erode cash prices and chill prospects for farmer sales, grain dealers said.
"Some guys are pulling back the reins," a dealer in southern Ohio said. "It looks like the overnights are down pretty bad."
A winter storm on Sunday that dumped a combination of snow and freezing rain on parts of the region also was expected to keep movement slow throughout the day.
"I imagine it is going to be a pretty quiet (today)," an Illinois dealer said.
Sharp swings in soyabean prices during the past two weeks are keeping farmers on the sidelines. Soybean prices rose by about 25 cents last week, but fell by close to the same amount two weeks ago.
The overnight e-cbot trend for soyabeans was 5-1/2 cents to 13-1/4 cents per bushel lower.
Many farmers were willing to hold out for higher prices, with some using last week's rally as an example that prices can always bounce back from sharp downturns.
Farmers around the region still have a surplus of corn and soyabeans from last fall's bumper harvest left in their storage bins.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, soyabean futures were called 10 cents to 12 cents per bushel lower. Traders said concerns about global spread of bird flu, as well as weakness in gold and crude oil markets was weighing on prices.
The harvesting of a large South American soyabean crop, which could cut into the demand for more expensive US exports, also was bearish.
Corn futures were expected to open 2 to 3 cents per bushel lower, also on bird flu worries.
Soft red winter wheat futures were called 6 to 8 cents per bushel lower on a forecast for rains in the US Plains, which have been dry lately.
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