Spot basis bids for soyabeans and corn fell at locations along Midwest rivers on Thursday as flooding and high water caused many dealers to suspend their barge loading operations. Cash bids for both commodities held steady at most interior locations, grain dealers said.
Some processing plants and elevators near rivers were closed on Thursday due to flooding around the region. No damages were reported but some plants had lost power and the high water interfered with delivery of supplies, grain dealers said. Farmers booked some light sales of corn they will deliver after harvest this fall after a futures market rally pushed prices close to $7 per bushel, a northern Ohio dealer said.
Although the interior soyabean basis was mostly steady, bids fell by 5 cents per bushel in western Iowa. Corn bids fell by 5 cents per bushel at a processor in northern Illinois. Shipping costs surged on Midwest rivers amid lock closures that halted grain movement on key stretches of the Mississippi River.
On the Illinois River, barges were bid at 600 percent of tariff, a 50 percentage point gain from Wednesday. Bids for barges rose 25 percentage points to 500 percent of tariff on the Mississippi River at St. Louis.