Spot basis bids for corn rose at processors and elevators west of the Mississippi River but were mostly steady at locations in the eastern US Midwest, grain dealers said on Monday. Cash bids for soyabeans and wheat were mostly unchanged on Monday.
Bids for both corn and soyabeans firmed along rivers as low shipping costs have left dealers with more money to offer farmers for their crops. Grain dealers in the West were trying to spark some farmer selling of corn before growers put their newly harvested crops into storage bins for the next few months.
But dealers in the East had enough supplies. Some elevators did not accept delivery of either corn or soyabeans during the weekend because they had too much on hand, a dealer in southern Ohio said.
During the past few weeks, farmers have delivered corn and soyabeans that they had contracted to sell earlier this year. But new sales have been scarce this harvest season due to the bullish expectations of farmers, dealers said.
Dry weather around much of the region allowed farmers to make good harvest progress during the weekend, grain dealers said. "It (harvest) should be done shortly," a dealer in northern Ohio said.
Farmer selling was expected to be slow on Monday. Cash prices were below most farmers' target prices, dealers said. In overnight electronic trading, the e-cbot trend for soyabean futures was down 5-3/4 cents per bushel to up 2 cents per bushel while corn was down 1 cent to 4 cents per bushel. Wheat futures were down 4-1/4 cents per bushel to up 2-1/4 cents per bushel in e-cbot trading.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, soyabean futures were called 3 cents to 5 cents per bushel lower on a profit-taking setback from Friday's rally. Corn futures also were expected to open 2 cents to 4 cents per bushel lower on pressure from the harvest progress farmers made during the weekend. CBOT wheat was seen 2 cents to 4 cents per bushel lower, dragged down by falling crude oil markets and quiet exports.