US Gulf CIF soyabean and corn barge basis values held mostly steady on Monday morning, following a bearish acreage report from the US Agriculture Department, traders said. St. Louis harbour closed to barge traffic due to flooding. Upper Mississippi locks to remain closed another week.
Many elevators buying grain using basis-only contracts due to calls for futures to open sharply lower. Some dealers posting protection. Corn and soyabean export demand stalled by record prices due to flood damage to US crops. Soft red winter wheat values unchanged, after falling last week on harvest pressure and limited export demand. US wheat not expected to be competitive in tenders by Jordan for 100,000 tonnes of hard wheat and Bangladesh seeking 100,000 tonnes of wheat.