US FOB corn and soyabean export premiums held mostly steady on Monday as cold weather slowed both farmer selling and barge movement to the Gulf, traders said.
An arctic blast has hit the Midwest with sub-zero temperatures on Monday. Barge operators were moving vessels off the Illinois and upper Mississippi rivers as quickly as possible with ice starting to jam the navigation channel. "We're not loading anything," said a trader at an elevator. "It will come to a screeching halt until we get warmer temperatures."
The freezing temperatures were also preventing operators from cleaning barges between cargoes. The lack of barge loadings and slower transit times was not expected to have a big impact on CIF grain values. Export demand has slowed down due to a seasonal shift in business to South America, which has started to harvest what are expected to be bumper crops of corn and soyabeans.
"There's not much demand for anything at the Gulf, especially soyabeans," said a trader. US soyabeans are losing their competitive edge as prices fall in Brazil and Argentina as the harvest picks up speed.
Recent rallies in CBOT corn have deterred buyers in Taiwan and South Korea, although Japan continues to purchase corn for April through June shipment, traders said. Purchases were expected to be light in the coming weeks due to the Lunar New Year holiday the week of February 19 in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia.
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