Spot basis bids for soyabeans and corn were mostly steady at processors and elevators around the interior US Midwest on Monday, grain dealers said. Cash bids for both corn and soyabeans showed some weakness along the upper Mississippi River.
Although the interior soyabean basis was mostly steady, bids rose by 5 cents per bushel in southern Illinois. Cash bids for soyabeans fell by 7 cents per bushel in northern Illinois. Farmer selling of both commodities was slow, grain dealers said.
Some growers were waiting for cash prices for corn to reach $6 per bushel before committing to any new sales. Corn prices ranged from $5.49 to $5.82 per bushel around the region. Growers were not telling grain dealers the prices at which they would sell soyabeans.
Most farmers were anxious to get in the fields to start planting tasks but wet and cold weather were keeping them on the sidelines. The US Agriculture Department said on Monday that farmers had planted 2 percent of this year's corn crop, down from 4 percent in mid-April 2007 and below the five-year average of 7 percent. Analysts had been expecting corn planting to be between 2 percent and 4 percent complete. Shipping costs held steady along Midwest rivers.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, May soyabean futures closed 40 cents higher, a 3-percent gain, at $13.72-1/2 a bushel amid talk that buyers in China were looking for vegetable oils. May corn ended 7-1/2 cents higher, a 1.3 percent gain, at $5.91-3/4 per bushel. CBOT May wheat closed 1/2 cent lower at $8.96 a bushel.