Spot basis bids for corn and soyabeans held steady at most processors and elevators around the US Midwest on Thursday, grain dealers said. Some farmers booked corn sales when a futures market rally pushed cash prices to more than $4 per bushel, a dealer in Illinois said. The next target prices for corn were in the $4.02 to $4.05 a bushel range, the dealer said.
Growers also booked light amounts of soyabeans as cash prices settled in a range from $10.30 to $10.68 a bushel, a dealer in eastern Iowa said. Farmers were reluctant to sell large amounts of either commodity as planting delays have made them bullish about further price increases, a northern Ohio dealer said. Although the soyabean basis was mostly steady, bids rose by 5 cents per bushel in Sioux City, Iowa.
Some processors were still looking to boost their crushing supplies following a few weeks of slow country movement. The US Agriculture Department said that soyabean export sales were 1.17 million tonnes (834,600 tonnes old crop) in the latest reporting week. Analysts had been expecting soyabean export sales between 700,000 and 1,000,000 tonnes.
Export sales of corn were 1.34 million tonnes (1.23 million tonnes old crop), topping forecasts for 800,000 to 1.2 million tonnes. USDA said wheat export sales were 251,200 tonnes (142,400 tonnes) below estimates for 350,000 to 450,000 tonnes.
Shipping costs held steady on Midwest rivers, with bids remaining at the same level since late last week. Barges were bid at 200 percent of tariff on the Mississippi River at St. Louis, at 245 percent of tariff on the Illinois River and at 200 percent of tariff on the lower Ohio River.
Dealers continued to roll their corn and soyabean bids to the Chicago Board of Trade July contracts from the May contracts, which expire on May 14. At the Chicago Board of Trade, the May soyabean futures contract rose 36 cents, or 3.5 percent, to settle at $10.70 a bushel, due to forecasts for lower-than-expected soyabean production in Argentina.
The July contract rose 30 cents to $10.55 a bushel. CBOT May corn rose 3-1/4 cents to close at $3.96-1/4 a bushel. Traders said the market was technically strong after breaking through key moving averages earlier in the week. CBOT July corn rose 2-1/4 cents to $4.03-1/2 a bushel. CBOT May wheat rose 3-1/2 cents to $5.24-1/4 a bushel due to short covering.