Spot basis bids for corn were mixed at processors and elevators around the US Midwest Monday while soyabean bids were mostly unchanged, grain dealers said. Some farmers were booking light sales of both commodities as a rally during Asian trading hours pushed cash prices to higher than $4 per bushel for corn and $10 a bushel for soyabeans, a dealer in Illinois said.
Growers also were booking sales of old-crop wheat as a cold snap across the US Plains raised concerns about damage to the winter wheat crop, leading to a rally in the overnight trading session, a dealer in southern Ohio said. Rain and snow around the Midwest during the weekend should keep farmers out of the fields for the week, dealers said.
The planting delays could cause some farmers to book more sales because they will have time to monitor the markets and deliver supplies to processors and elevators, the southern Ohio dealer said. But the delays were making other farmers bullish that prices would continue to rise during the next few weeks, which could cause them to keep a tight grip on their old-crop supplies, an Indiana dealer said. Although the basis was mostly steady, soyabean bids fell by 4.5 cents per bushel at a terminal along the Illinois River.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, soyabean futures were called to open 5 to 7 cents per bushel higher due to strength in the export market and reports of low harvest yields in South America. CBOT corn was called steady to 2 cents higher due to wet and cold weather delaying planting. CBOT wheat was called up 3 to 5 cents on the cold snap across the Plains.