Spot corn basis bids were steady to firm around the interior US Midwest on Tuesday, while the soyabean basis held mostly flat despite a rally in the futures market to fresh all-time highs, grain merchants said.
Farmer selling of both commodities was spotty, with some growers marketing small amounts of grain to capture the current high prices and others resigned to wait for further gains, they said. One Chicago processor firmed its corn basis bid by 4 cents a bushel in an attempt to lure more sales. A dealer there said movement increased early in the day when the futures market was near session highs, but slowed later in the day.
Corn basis bids also firmed at a Council Bluffs, Iowa, location by 2 cents a bushel and at Toledo, Ohio, by a penny a bushel as dealers there tried to entice more farmer selling. Soyabean futures soared to fresh all-time highs on Tuesday amid strong export demand from China, which has been aggressively buying edible oils amid an attempt to reign in inflation, traders said.
The push to historic highs in futures has pressured cash basis levels, although flat cash prices were nearly double year-ago levels. Shipping costs were steady to higher on Midwest rivers, with tight supplies of empty vessels holding up values in the St. Louis area and high water levels limiting movement on northern stretches of the Illinois River, a barge broker said.
Bids for spot barges were on the Mississippi River at St. Louis were at 400 percent of tariff, up from 385 on Friday. Spot barge bids held steady at 500 percent of tariff on the Illinois River and 390 percent of tariff on the lower Ohio.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, March soyabean futures closed 24-3/4 cents higher at $13.98-1/2 per bushel on continued strong demand from China. March corn traded as much as 9-3/4 cents higher but settled up 5-1/4 cents at $5.20 per bushel amid spillover strength from higher soyabeans. CBOT March wheat closed 8-1/2 cents higher at $10.36 a bushel on continued tight supplies and spillover from higher soyabean futures.