US Midwest soyabeans rise; corn and wheat mostly steady

Spot basis bids for soyabeans rose around the US Midwest on Friday as processors and elevators sought to boost dwindling supplies, grain dealers said.
Cash bids for corn and wheat were mostly steady around the region. Dealers were still well supplied with corn and wheat after sharp futures market rallies sparked heavy farmer selling in mid-May.
Dealers said some farmers were booking sales of small amounts of soyabeans that they have been holding in storage at grain elevators and processors. But most were too busy in the fields to haul any new grain.
Sales of corn and wheat were slow, dealers said.
Soybean futures prices rallied by more than 7 cents per bushel on Thursday, which led to cash prices that were as much as 10 cents per bushel higher when combined with the increased basis bids at some locations.
Some soyabean processing plants were planning on shutting down for seasonal maintenance in the next few days and were no longer accepting shipments from farmers.
Bids for corn fell by 7 cents per bushel at one processor in Iowa. Earlier in the week, the processor had been offering farmers a cash price of $2.25 per bushel of corn if they agreed to deliver it on Saturday.
But dealers at that location booked enough sales at the higher price to fill their needs, so they lowered the basis.
In export news, the US Agriculture Department said export sales of soyabeans totalled 568,900 tonnes (old crop and new crop) in the latest reporting week, beating estimates of 250,000 tonnes to 350,000 tonnes.
Export sales of corn were 1.23 million tonnes (old crop and new crop), also above forecasts for 800,000 tonnes to 1 million tonnes, USDA said.
Export sales of wheat also were better than expected. USDA reported export sales of 352,400 tonnes (old crop and new crop), slightly above estimates for 200,000 tonnes to 350,000 tonnes.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, soyabean futures were called 1 cent to 2 cents per bushel higher, supported by outside markets such as gold and crude oil.
CBOT corn futures were seen 1/2 cent to 1 cent per bushel higher. Traders forecast a bullish reaction to the export sales figure.
CBOT wheat futures were called 2 cents to 3 cents per bbushel higher.