Spot basis bids for corn fell slightly at railroad locations around the US Midwest on Monday due to abundant supplies but were steady at most other interior locations, grain dealers said. Cash bids for soyabeans were mostly steady at interior processors and elevators.
Along Midwest Rivers, bids for both corn and soyabeans dipped due to declining CIF values. Soy bids suffered due to a lack of export demand. Farmer selling was slow on Monday because prices were still well below peaks hit earlier this year. "They (farmers) think that they might have missed it and I think they are hoping the (cold) weather will bring it back," an Illinois dealer said.
Most farmers were waiting to see how much corn they would be able to plant in the next month before committing to selling any of the crop they had in storage bins or booking future sales, a dealer in northern Ohio said.
Cold weather around the region has delayed seeding of the new corn crop. The US Agriculture Department has predicted that farmer will devote the largest number of acres to corn in 63 years. Barge freight eased slightly on Midwest rivers. On the lower Ohio River, bids for barges fell to 200 percent of tariff from 210 percent of tariff on Thursday. Barges were bid at 230 percent of tariff on the Illinois River, down from 240 percent of tariff last week. Bids for barges fell 10 percentage points to 190 percent of tariff on the Mississippi River at St. Louis.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, the May corn futures contract fell 2-1/2 cents to $3.63-1/2 per bushel on a profit-taking setback following gains last week.