Spot basis bids for soyabeans were mixed around the US Midwest early on Tuesday amid light farmer selling, grain dealers said. Cash bids for corn held steady at most locations but the market had a firm tone due to slow country movement in recent days.
Farmers were booking light sales of soyabeans in areas such as eastern Indiana where basis bids were close to option, leading to cash prices of around $10.30 a bushel.
Some farmers had left offers to sell soyabeans if prices reached that level, a dealer at that location said. Soyabean bids rose in areas where cash prices were closer to $9.70 per bushel, which was too low to interest most farmers. Growers have seen those prices in recent weeks and were unlikely to sell at that level again.
Rainy weather around the region was keeping farmers out of their fields and delaying corn planting. Some places would need at least 10 straight days without rain before it would be dry enough for farmers to run tractors through fields, dealers in areas east of the Mississippi River said. The US Agriculture Department said on Monday afternoon that 2 percent of the US corn crop was planted as of April 12, below the five-year average of 6 percent.
The winter wheat crop was rated 42 percent good to excellent, down from 43 percent a week ago. Only 2 percent of the spring wheat crop had been planted, below the five-year average of 11 percent, USDA said. At the Chicago Board of Trade, soyabean futures were called to open 8 to 10 cents per bushel higher due to tight stocks and good demand for soya from China.