Spot basis bids for corn were mostly steady to weak on Wednesday while interior soyabean bids held steady around the US Midwest, grain dealers said. Farmers booked light sales of both commodities after a futures market rally pushed cash prices higher. Corn sales were heavier than soyabean sales as the futures market rose to record highs.
Most growers were keeping a small amount of both commodities in their storage bins in case prices rise sharply during the growing season. Some growers in western Iowa were able to apply fertiliser to their fields ahead of planting, a dealer in that area said. But most fields were still too wet for pre-planting work.
Although the corn basis was mostly steady to weak, bids rose by 5 cents per bushel at an elevator in northern Illinois. Spot bids for soyabeans rose by 6 cents per bushel at a terminal in Iowa along the upper Mississippi River.
Shipping costs were steady to weak on Midwest rivers, falling by 10 percentage points on the lower Ohio and Illinois rivers. Bids for barges were unchanged at 320 percent of tariff on the Mississippi River at St. Louis.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, May soyabean futures closed 61-1/2 cents higher at $13.13 a bushel on talk of a renewed farmer strike in Argentina. May corn futures ended 13-3/4 cents higher at $6.05 per bushel, supported by a US Agriculture Department forecast for smaller-than-expected ending stocks. CBOT May wheat futures closed unchanged at $9.34 a bushel.