FOB US Gulf soyabean values were steady to softer late Thursday as a cloud of uncertainty about Chinese demand overhung the market after some importers defaulted on US and Brazilian soya purchases, traders said. FOB corn basis offers were steady to firm with export interest encouraging while wheat had a soft tone.
Nearby FOB soya values held steady given tight logistics at the Gulf while June forward fell 5-10 cents/bushel, against a backdrop of lower futures.
CBOT May soyabeans saw the biggest decline, ending 13 cents lower at $14.82-1/4. New-crop months closed 1-2 cents lower.
Traders said the reported default of 500,000 tonnes of US and Brazilian soyabeans purchases by some Chinese importers highlighted concerns about counterparty risk.
US soyabean export sales for the week ended April 3 were 79,100 tonnes - down considerably from a month ago when the weekly pace was fell over 500,000 - as South American supplies move into export channels.
But China was the biggest shipper of US soyabeans with 325,900 tonnes out of the total of 700,400 tonnes, according to USDA.
Nearby FOB corn was unchanged, with April offered at 90 cents and May 85 over futures. CBOT May corn ended down 1 at $5.01-1/4.
Corn export interest for summer shipments remained strong, with August up a nickel, quoted at 85 over.
US weekly 2013/14 corn export sales of 658,700 tonnes were below trade expectations. But shipments of more than 1.2 million tonnes were up 10 percent for the four-week average.
FOB Texas Gulf hard red winter wheat and New Orleans Gulf soft red wheat values continued to have a soft tone amid lukewarm export interest. US weekly old-crop wheat sales of 41,800 were a marketing-year low, USDA said.
Traders were awaiting the results of Egypt's GASC snap tender for wheat shipped first-half May. While the Black Sea region has seen the bulk of business in recent months due to a freight advantage, some traders thought the US might win some of the business.
FOB Gulf soft red wheat was quoted around $282/tonne late Thursday, compared to Black Sea wheat at roughly $300-$305, traders said. Freight from the Gulf to Egypt runs about $30/tonne vs $12 from the Russian Novorossiysk port.
Kansas City May wheat ended 10-3/4 lower at $7.22-1/2 on outlooks for much-needed rain headed to the southern Plains wheat belt. Chicago May wheat closed 6-3/4 down at $6.62-1/4.
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