US FOB Gulf soyabean, corn steady to soft

US FOB Gulf soyabean and corn basis offers were steady to soft after the close on Thursday with new four-year lows set in futures following the US Agriculture Department's latest bearish production forecasts, traders said. Wheat basis offers were firmer in line with high rail and barge freight as merchants looked to move this year's harvest out of storage ahead of the fall corn and soyabean harvest.
Soyabean offers for October fell 5 cents to 180 cents over CBOT November futures while November/December loadings were steady at 170/155 cents over futures. CBOT November futures closed 12-1/4 cents lower at $9.81-1/2 a bushel, after setting new lows on USDA's jumbo crop forecast. USDA reported a daily soya sale of 810,000 tonnes by US exporters with 240,000 tonnes outright to China and the rest to unknown or optional origin. Traders tied the sale to a visiting delegation from China, the dominate buyer of US soyabeans.
USDA also reported soyabean export sales of 984,300 tonnes for the week ended September 4 - marking the end of the 2013/14 crop year on August 31. Of the sales, 658,200 tonnes were to China. Corn basis values were steady amid the four-year lows in futures as USDA's latest forecast was beyond last year's record and analysts' average guesses.
FOB corn offers for October-November shipments held at 126 cents over CBOT December futures. December was steady offered at 120 cents over December futures and January was unchanged at 105 cents over March futures. CBOT December ended 4-3/4 cents down at $3.41. USDA said weekly corn sales were 563,200 tonnes, reflecting soft demand as world buyers continue to book cheaper corn out of the Black Sea and Argentina.
Traders said they doubted the harvest lows were in yet, although agronomists were pointing to an expected freeze in the northern Midwest this weekend as a potential problem for final corn and soyabean yields. Wheat basis values were underpinned by high freight and fresh interest from Nigeria, traders said. USDA also lifted projected wheat end stocks as of next June but traders said some wheat was moving under pressure for storage from the coming grain harvest in the Corn Belt.