US FOB Gulf corn basis offers were firm on Tuesday amid export demand and a slowdown in farmer selling, while soyabeans were steady, traders said. Barge freight bids were lower at St. Louis on the lower Mississippi River and steady on the Ohio and Illinois rivers amid generally flat demand from shippers, traders said.
Farmer selling slowed on Tuesday as both CBOT corn and soya futures ended lower after a volatile trading session.
Corn basis offers were firm in line with values in the CIF barge market, supported by slow movement and export demand.
Traders said an exporter was a prominent buyer of corn in the CIF market, sparking speculation of export sales. "It looks like there was some business done," a trader said.
Another trader said importers were showing interest in buying corn for shipment in July, August and September.
The gains in corn prices, which began early in the day, come after basis values fell sharply after a pick up in farmer selling on Monday fuelled by a rally in CBOT futures.
Traders said sharp declines in ocean freight to Asia were helping to draw fresh export demand for grains.
They said soyabean offers were steady, supported by gains in the CIF market, amid slow farmer selling. They said July shipment CIF soya traded at 32 cents a bushel premium the CBOT July, while August traded at a premium of 33 cents.
Soft red winter wheat basis values were mostly steady after rising early in the day amid slow farmer selling. Hard red winter wheat prices were steady, supported by export demand.
A trader said an unspecified amount of HRW wheat was sold to Nigeria, adding that buyers from the country usually bought wheat in amounts of 25,000 to 30,000 tonnes per shipment.
He said protein levels in the HRW wheat were improving in Kansas and Texas, adding that the harvest was advancing.