Spot cash bids for corn and soyabeans were steady to firm in the US Midwest early Monday, reflecting a lack of country movement, merchandisers said. Many producers have completed their grain sales for the calendar year, and Friday's rally in Chicago Board of Trade corn and soyabean futures was not large enough to inspire fresh offerings. "I don't think we're going to have anything until after the first of the year, for tax purposes," an Indiana grain buyer said.
Soy processor bids rose 2 cents at Decatur, Indiana, and 1 cent at Omaha, Nebraska, as crushers tried to draw out supplies from farmers. "It's still hard to pry beans loose," an Iowa merchandiser said.
Loan deficiency payments (LDPs) for soyabeans disappeared in Iowa and Minnesota, providing another reason for producers to postpone spot sales. Soy LDPs ranged from 2 to 5 cents a bushel in the eastern Midwest.
The corn basis rose 6 cents late on Friday at Decatur, Illinois, while Illinois River corn bids climbed 1 cent. Values were mostly steady elsewhere. Midwest corn LDPs ranged from 22 to 25 cents a bushel.
A few loads of corn arrived during the weekend into northern elevators as farmers in Michigan and Wisconsin continued to harvest, merchandisers said.
At the CBOT, corn futures were called to open 1/2 to 1 cent per bushel higher in a technical correction to last week's drop to contract lows. CBOT soyabeans were called to open 2 to 3 cents higher on follow-through buying from Friday.
Cash bids for soft red winter wheat were steady and sales were light. CBOT wheat futures were called to open 1 to 2 cents higher.