US Midwest soyabean bids steady to weak

Spot basis bids for soyabeans were steady to weak at locations around the interior US Midwest on Monday as farmers geared up for harvest, grain dealers said. But cash bids for soyabeans rose at locations along the region's rivers. Bids for both corn and wheat were mostly unchanged.
Farmers were light sellers of soyabeans after a futures market rally pushed cash prices above $9 per bushel, a dealer in Illinois said. But most growers wanted to see how big their harvest would be before committing to any new sales, a dealer in western Iowa said.
"If they knew what their yields were, that (would be) a good price for out of the fields," the dealer said. The US Agriculture Department said on Monday that corn harvest was 14 percent complete as of September 16, up from 8 percent a week earlier and above the five-year average of 9 percent for mid-September. Analysts had expected corn harvest to be 14 percent to 20 percent complete. Soyabean harvest was 4 percent complete, slightly below the five-year average of 5 percent.
Although the corn basis was mostly steady around the region, bids did rise by 20 cents per bushel at a processor in Chicago. Shipping costs were steady to weak on Midwest rivers. Barges traded for 775 percent of tariff on the lower Ohio River, down 25 percentage points from Friday's level. On the Illinois River, barges traded in a range from 740 percent to 750 percent of tariff compared to 750 percent of tariff on Friday.
Barges were bid at 700 percent of tariff on the Mississippi River at St. Louis, down from 725 percent of tariff on Friday. At the Chicago Board of Trade, the November soyabean futures contract rose 13-3/4 cents, a gain of 1.4 percent, to $9.68-1/2 per bushel. The rally was spurred by strength in soyaoil and soyameal as well as fears that cold weather during the weekend damaged this year's soyabean crop.
CBOT December corn futures closed 3-1/4 cents per bushel higher at $3.52-1/4, supported by strength in soyabeans and wheat. The CBOT December wheat futures contract ended 29 cents higher at $8.75 per bushel, a gain of 3.4 percent, on expectations for a lower Australian crop estimate.