US FOB Gulf grain and soyabean offers were quietly steady after the close on Friday with abundant supplies at home and overseas keeping buyers awaiting harvest lows in the world's biggest grain exporter, traders said. Export business remained routine on Friday as wheat futures hit new contract lows and corn and soyabeans hovered near four-year lows. Cold weather in the northern Midwest overnight saw some snow in North Dakota with lows below freezing but the market hardly noticed.
CBOT December corn futures closed 2-1/2 cents lower at $3.38-1/2 per bushel while soyabean futures were 3-3/4 cents higher at $9.85-1/4, with one eye on China's visiting delegation which may announce some additional soya purchases on Tuesday. USDA on Thursday had announced exporters booked 810,000 tonnes to China and unknown which traders said were tied to the Chinese trip. On Friday USDA announced more sales - 131,000 tonnes of soyabeans and 116,000 tonnes of corn - both to unknown.
Asked about Cargill's lawsuit on Friday against Syngenta claiming losses of more than $90 million due to Syngenta's GMO corn, traders shrugged and said it looked like the top exporter was setting the stage for a long legal battle tied to its China contract in recent years. Barge freight was mostly steady on Friday, with some easing on the lower Ohio River after this week's strength as soft wheat began to move out of storage ahead of corn harvest.
But SRW and HRW wheat basis offers at the Gulf remain supported by elevated barge and rail freight costs, traders said. FOB soyabean offers for October were 180 cents over CBOT November futures and November-December were 170/155 cents over futures - all steady with Thursday.
FOB corn offers for October-November shipments held at 126 cents over CBOT December futures. December shipments were quoted steady at 120 cents over December futures and January was unchanged at 105 cents over March futures. SRW wheat offers for October were steady at 160 cents over and November-December were unchanged at 180 cents over CBOT December futures, which closed 7 cents lower at $5.02-1/2. Texas Gulf HRW offers for October-November-December were also unchanged at 180 cents over December futures. KCBT December futures ended below $6 - down 13 cents at $5.93-1/4.
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