Spot basis bids for corn and soyabeans were mostly steady around the interior US Midwest on Thursday but soya bids fell along rivers due to declining CIF values, grain dealers said. Dealers reported scattered selling of both commodities as farmers tried to pocket some cash ahead of planting season.
Few farmers were willing to book big sales, preferring to hold back and hope that prices rebound to peaks hit earlier this year. But some farmers were starting to get worried that the recent downturns in the futures market signalled the end of a price rally that was fuelled by growing demand for ethanol, an Iowa dealer said.
The US Agriculture Department said on Thursday morning that export sales of soyabeans were 452,600 tonnes (old crop and new crop combined) in the latest reporting week. Analysts were expecting soyabean export sales between 300,000 tonnes and 500,000 tonnes.
Corn export sales were 787,700 tonnes (old crop and new crop combined), below market forecasts for 900,000 tonnes to 1 million tonnes. Export sales of wheat were 487,000 tonnes (old crop and new crop combined), in line with estimates for 400,000 tonnes to 600,000 tonnes.
Barge freight was steady on Midwest rivers. Bids for barges were at 230 percent of tariff on the Mississippi River at St. Louis, unchanged with Wednesday's level. Barge bids also were flat, at 290 percent of tariff on the Illinois River. On the lower Ohio River, barges were bid at 250 percent of tariff.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, the May corn futures contract closed down 7 cents, or 1.7 percent, at $3.97-3/4, following a downturn in the price of crude oil amid thin trading. CBOT May soyabean futures dropped 3 cents to $7.50-1/2 a bushel as mutual funds liquidated more long positions. The May wheat futures contract dropped 7-3/4 cents to close at $4.55-1/2 per bushel.
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