Spot basis bids for corn and soyabeans fell at river locations on Thursday due to weak export demand, grain dealers said. Around the interior, bids for both commodities held steady at most processors and elevators. Farmer selling was slow on Thursday as most growers had booked a larger-than-usual amount of sales this year.
Farmers were holding on to what supplies they had left in their storage bins and hoping for price rallies in the coming weeks. The US Agriculture Department said on Thursday morning that export sales of corn were 1.23 million tonnes (old crop and new crop combined) in the latest reporting week. Analysts had been expecting corn export sales between 700,000 tonnes and 1 million tonnes.
Soyabean export sales were 381,500 tonnes (old crop and new crop combined), in line with forecasts for 250,000 tonnes to 400,000 tonnes. Export sales of wheat were 423,200 tonnes (old crop and new crop combined), below estimates for 500,000 tonnes to 650,000 tonnes.
Shipping costs held steady on Midwest rivers. At the Chicago Board of Trade, March corn futures rose 3 cents to close at $5.59-3/4 per bushel while the May contract settled 2-1/4 cents higher at $5.69-1/2 per bushel, supported by crude oil prices rallying to record highs.
The March soyabean futures contract gained 8 cents to $13.87 a bushel while the May contract ended 7-3/4 cents higher at $14.02-3/4 a bushel. Traders said talk of China buying vegetable oils for state reserves supported the market. March wheat futures fell 36 cents to $12.34 a bushel while the May contract closed 38-1/2 cents lower at $12.44 a bushel on profit taking following the strong rally on Wednesday.