Spot basis bids for corn were steady to firm around the US Midwest on Tuesday while soyabean bids rose at locations in Iowa but held steady around the rest of the region, grain dealers said. Farmer selling of both commodities was slow as cash prices were well below growers' targets, dealers said.
Rainy weather around the region knocked farmers out of the fields, further delaying corn seeding that was behind schedule in many areas. Farmers in Iowa have made good progress in the fields during the past few weeks but many farmers east of the Mississippi River have not planted any corn yet.
Some growers were calling processors and elevators to check prices but most were reluctant to book any new sales, a dealer in western Iowa said. The planting delays were making many growers bullish about corn prices, dealers said.
Shipping costs held steady on Midwest rivers. Barges were bid at 200 percent of tariff on the Mississippi River at St. Louis, at 245 percent on the Illinois River and at 200 percent on the lower Ohio River. At the Chicago Board of Trade, the May soyabean futures contract fell 15-1/4 cents, or 1.5 percent, to settle at $9.89-1/2 a bushel on talk of slowdown in US export sales. The July contract fell 14 cents to $9.83.
CBOT May corn rose 2-3/4 cents to close at $3.75 a bushel, supported by wet weather that was causing further planting delays around the Midwest. CBOT July corn rose 2-3/4 cents to $3.83-1/2. CBOT May wheat rose 2-1/2 cents to $5.10-1/2 a bushel also due to slow seedings.