Midwest corn steady to higher, soybeans flat

Spot basis bids for corn were steady to higher around the US Midwest on Monday as dealers tried to spark sales from farmers that were finishing up harvest. Wheat and soyabean bids were mostly steady around the region, grain dealers said.
Country movement of corn and soyabeans was slow on Monday, with most farmers holding out for higher cash prices after rallies throughout the fall.
"They are still thinking it is going to go up higher," a dealer in Iowa said. Dealers were trying to get farmers to take advantage of the relatively high cash prices for corn before they put the last of their newly harvested grain in storage bins. Farmers are more likely to hold on to grain for a few months if they put it in storage.
"It is amazing how little people are doing," an eastern rail broker said. "Where the harvest is done, they are just watching it (prices) go up.' The US Agriculture Department said on Monday that 97 percent of US corn had been harvested, down from 99 percent last year and below the five-year average for late-November of 98 percent.
Soyabean harvest was 96 percent complete, down from 99 percent last year and slightly below the five-year average of 97 percent. USDA also said that 94 percent of the winter wheat crop had emerged, in line with last year's level and above the five-year average of 93 percent. The crop was rated 53 percent good to excellent compared to 52 percent in late November of 2005.
Shipping costs were steady to slightly lower along Midwest rivers. The slow pace of farmer selling has boosted the supply of vessels available for shipping grain. Bids for barge fell to 440 percent of tariff on the Illinois River from 460 percent last week.
On the lower Ohio River, barges traded at 375 percent of tariff, in line with last week's level. Barge freight also was steady on the Mississippi River at St. Louis, where barges were bid at 375 percent of tariff. At the Chicago Board of Trade, the December corn futures contract closed up 2-1/4 cents at $3.71-1/2 per bushel, boosted by weakness in the US dollar and strength in Chinese markets.
CBOT January soyabeans rose 3-3/4 cents to $6.88 per bushel. CBOT December wheat closed down 9-3/4 cents, or nearly 2 percent, at $4.90-1/4 per bushel as traders cashed in long positions before the delivery period starts on Thursday.