Spot basis bids for soyabeans and corn were steady to firm at locations around the US Midwest on Friday amid light farmer selling, grain dealers said. Most growers awaited the US Agriculture Department's prospective plantings report on Monday morning before committing to new sales. But some farmers took profits on a bit of old crop supplies in case the report hurts prices.
"We had a little bit of selling but it was not anything big," an Iowa dealer said. Although the soyabean basis was mostly steady to firm, bids fell by 19-1/2 cents per bushel at a terminal along the Illinois River. Shipping costs fell on Midwest rivers.
On the Mississippi River at St. Louis, bids for barges fell 25 percentage points to 375 percent of tariff. Barges were bid at 450 percent of tariff, down from 500 percent of tariff on Thursday. Barge freight held steady at 425 percent of tariff on the lower Ohio River.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, May soyabean futures fell 60 cents, a 4.5 percent drop, to close at $12.67-1/4 per bushel on profit taking. Traders reported profit taking ahead of the release of the plantings report. May corn futures ended 5 cents higher at $5.60-1/2 per bushel due to wet and cold weather around the Midwest that could slow seedings this year.CBOT May wheat futures fell 25 cents, a 2.5 percent drop, to close at $9.89 a bushel on technical weakness.