Spot basis bids for corn and soyabeans held mostly steady around the US Midwest on Friday as farmers held onto supplies while futures drifted lower, dealers said. Corn bids fell by 1-1/2 cents per bushel while soyabean bids fell by 1 cent at an Iowa terminal along the Mississippi River.
Traffic was curbed at Lock and Dam 24 at Clarksville, Missouri, after a barge tow ran aground on Thursday. The bids decreased slightly to offset higher shipping costs at that river point, a dealer in Iowa said. But bids ended the week largely flat. Dealers said the phones were quiet amid lower futures at the Chicago Board of Trade.
"Farmers have seen these prices before and are in no rush to sell," an Illinois dealer said. On the Illinois River, barges traded for 265 percent of tariff, down 5 percentage points from Thursday. Barges were bid at 210 percent of tariff on the Mississippi River at St. Louis and 205 percent of tariff on the lower Ohio River, both unchanged.
Rain in much of the US Corn Belt has kept many farmers out of the fields. An outlook for more favourable planting weather next week helped to bring down futures. CBOT July soyabeans settled 17 cents lower at $11.30-1/2 a bushel; July corn ended 11 cents lower at $4.17-1/4 and July wheat down 15-3/4 cents at $5.77-1/2.