US FOB Gulf corn, soyabean, and wheat export premiums were firm on Wednesday, amid good export interest and tight supplies, following rising CIF barge values, traders said.
Demand for US soyabeans was increasing from the slow pace seen for much of the summer as buyers sought cheaper supplies from South America. Rising prices in rival exporter Brazil have turned buyer interest to slightly cheaper soyabeans from the United States.
Brazilian soyabeans for September shipment were priced at 60 cents per bushel over CBOT November on a FOB basis, which was up 30 cents from a week earlier, one trader said. Corn export demand remained steady as other countries had only small amounts of corn to sell, traders said.
Supplies at the Gulf were tight following several weeks of limited farmer selling and the high cost of moving grain on barges via Midwest rivers. Barge freight for nearby positions was more than double that of a year ago. Private exporters reported the sale of 160,000 tonnes of corn to Mexico for the 2006/07 marketing year, USDA said on Wednesday.
Wheat basis offers were higher as declining US wheat prices have sparked better export interest, traders said. Soft wheat export premiums rose in anticipation of Morocco buying 20,000 tonnes of US wheat next week. Traders were also eyeing the possibility that Egypt's GASC will tender for more wheat. The US Commodity Credit Corp announced it will tender on August 16 to buy about 127,000 tonnes of HRW wheat, ordinary protein, for Ethiopia.