US FOB Gulf soyabean offers mostly firmer

Export premiums for soyabeans shipped from the US Gulf Coast were mostly steady to firmer on Monday, with nearby prices supported by firm CIF barge basis values and deferred offers capped by stiff competition from South America, traders said. The barges of soyabeans loaded this week traded as high as 37 cents a bushel premium to Chicago Board of Trade March futures.
The spot basis values were at a seven-cent premium to bids for March loadings as exporters sought near term supplies to fill shipping commitments. Export inspections of soyabeans last week topped 1.6 million tonnes for a second straight week, according to US Department of Agriculture data. The inspections were well above trade expectations amid heavy shipments to China.
Top soya importer China booked several March shipments of Brazilian soyabeans and remained in the market for more as prices were generally lower than those in the Untied States, traders said. However, US soyabeans are competitively priced on the world market for July and August shipments, a period normally dominated by South American new-crop supplies, a trader said. China booked some of those US purchases last week, he said.
Corn and wheat export premiums were mostly unchanged. China is embarking on a major shift in its agriculture policy, abandoning its long-held obsession with self-sufficiency in favour of better meeting consumer demand, a key rural policy document shows.FOB basis offers for February shipments of soyabeans were 47 cents a bushel above CBOT March futures.
Corn shipments from the Gulf in late February were offered around 66 cents a bushel over CBOT March futures. Offers for February SRW wheat shipments were 85 cents over March futures while HRW shipments were 135 cents over March futures.