Corn spot basis bids were steady to higher around the US Midwest on Tuesday as country movement was slow, but soyabean bids were mixed amid some scattered selling in the western Corn Belt, merchants said.
Wheat basis bids were steady to weak, pressured by ample supplies of freshly harvested wheat, they said. Weak Chicago Board of Trade corn and soyabean futures over the past few days weakened cash prices at several locations and largely discouraged farmer selling, merchants said.
The market's decline also took prices closer to government loan rates so farmers have less incentive to sell what's left of their old-crop, they said.
"We know they need to sell some more, but now that prices are in the low twos (dollars per bushel) on corn and the low fives beans there's no incentive to do anything right now," an Ohio merchant said.
Any rally in futures could trigger some grain movement as farmers need to clear out their storage bins to make room for the new crop which they will begin harvesting in about a month, merchants said.
Late on Monday, the US Agriculture Department said 67 percent of US corn was in the dough stage of development as of August 13, compared with 62 percent at the same point last year and the five-year average of 54 percent.
USDA said 25 percent of the corn crop was dented as of Sunday, versus 21 percent last year and 19 percent on average. Corn condition ratings were unchanged from the previous week.
US soyabeans were 85 percent setting pods as of Sunday, versus 87 percent last year and 77 percent on average, USDA said. Soy crop ratings improved slightly from the previous week. In exports, USDA said early on Tuesday that exporters had sold 105,000 tonnes of corn to Columbia. Grain merchants at Midwest river locations said that increased export market demand for US corn and soyabeans in the past week has prompted more aggressive bids.
CBOT soyabeans were expected to open 1 to 2 cents per bushel higher, with a technical short-covering bounce likely after futures fell to a 8-1/2 month low on Monday, traders said. Corn futures were called 1/2 to 1 cent per bushel higher as the market appeared technically oversold after falling to 4-1/2 month lows on Monday. CBOT wheat was called 1 to 2 cents higher with technical short-covering expected to provide support.