Corn basis bids firmed in the US Midwest Friday on rising demand from the rail market, while soyabean bids were steady, dealers said. Bids for both corn and soyabeans continued to fall along rivers in response to rising costs of shipping grain on icy waterways.
Bearish figures from the USDA's monthly supply and demand reports were expected to keep cash prices low. Farmers were unlikely to sell with cash prices below $2 per bushel for corn and $6 per bushel for soyabeans.
"People wanted to see what the report numbers showed," a dealer in Indiana said. "They showed bearish numbers so everyone is taking a wait-and-see attitude."
Dealers said sales were expected to stay slow as snowstorms across the region hampered movement.
Some dealers were posting protection of 5 to 10 cents per bushel on soyabean basis bids and 2 to 3 cents on corn early Friday, anticipating a lower open in CBOT futures. One dealer also took 3 cents protection on wheat.
Rising barge freight due to concerns about ice on the Illinois River sent spot bids lower at locations along the waterway. Barge traffic was limited to one way along a stretch of the river, which has never been closed due to wintry weather.
Barge freight rates for this week also rose on the lower Mississippi River at St. Louis and the Illinois and lower Ohio rivers due to export demand, traders said.
Corn bids fell by another 3 cents a bushel and soyabeans dropped by 4 cents a bushel at a river elevator in Seneca, Illinois. Corn bids have fallen by 14 cents per bushel and soyabean bids have dropped by 17 cents per bushel along the river this week.
Loan deficiency payments (LDPs) for corn, which are offered by the US government to compensate for low cash prices fell throughout the region. LDPs for corn ranged from 21 cents to 30 cents on Friday, down from 22 cents to 32 cents on Thursday.
At 8:50 am CST (1450 GMT), CBOT soyabeans were called to open 5 cents to 10 cents per bushel lower on bearish reaction to the USDA report. CBOT corn was called to open 1 to 3 cents per bushel lower.
CBOT wheat was called to open 2 to 4 cents per bushel lower.