US Gulf FOB corn basis offers were mostly steady on Monday while tight supplies amid slow farmer selling lifted soyabean prices, traders said. High water on rivers moving grain to exporters at the Gulf was beginning to recede, helping to speed up barge traffic. Barge freight rates for this week were lower on the Mississippi River at St. Louis and the Illinois River, but up 10 percentage points on the lower Ohio River, traders said.
"The river is open and barges are beginning to move again," a trader said, referring to the reopening of a stretch of the Illinois River late on Friday. Traders said water levels on the lower Ohio River was also receding.
Soybean basis offers were higher amid tight supplies as farmers remained tight-fisted with sales. Traders said basis values in the CIF barge market were sharply higher.
"It's not because of new business or logistics. Farmers are not selling and supplies are tight," a trader said.
Another trader said there was continued interest from top buyer China, but no deals could be confirmed.
Corn basis values were mostly steady, also supported by slow farmer selling. The market was also underpinned by weekly export sales that totalled 915,000 tonnes, up 39 percent from the previous week. Japan bought 364,900 tonnes.