Spot basis bids for corn were mostly steady at elevators and processors around the US Midwest on Wednesday while soyabean bids were mixed, grain dealers said.
Cash bids for soyabeans fell at some processors that booked a few sales from farmers that were anxious to take advantage of Wednesday's 13-3/4 cent per bushel rally in the futures market. Many farmers were still holding out for higher cash prices before committing to new sales, which caused some dealers to tighten their basis bids by as much as 2 cents per bushel.
The sales that dealers reported on Wednesday were mainly for soyabeans delivered at the end of 2007 or in 2008. The futures market rally pushed cash prices for those dates to around $8 per bushel Most producers were waiting for the release on Friday of the US Agriculture Department's prospective plantings report before booking any new sales.
Farmers around the region have grown accustomed to prices of at least $4 per bushel for corn and soyabeans well above $7.50 per bushel. Some were expressing regret that they did not do more selling when prices were at those levels earlier this year, an Iowa dealer said. Barge freight was steady to weaker along Midwest rivers.
Bids for barges were at 200 percent of tariff on the lower Ohio River, the same level as on Tuesday. Bids also were unchanged, at 190 percent of tariff, on the Mississippi River at St. Louis.
On the Illinois River, bids for barges fell 10 percentage points to 230 percent of tariff. At the Chicago Board of Trade, the May corn futures contract closed down 4 cents, or 1 percent, at $3.88-1/2 per bushel on forecasts for a USDA report that shows a huge jump in corn acreage. CBOT May soyabean futures rose 13-3/4 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $7.70-3/4 a bushel, following a strong rally in crude and soyaoil prices. The May wheat futures contract rose 2-1/2 cents to $4.56-1/2 a bushel.