Spot basis bids for corn and soyabeans were steady to mixed around the US Midwest on Monday as some processors firmed bids due to harvest delays, dealers said. Prices for both commodities are expected to fall sharply as full-scale harvest gets under way, but that shift is delayed because fields in parts of the Midwest are still too wet to cut.
Corn futures touched a two-month high on Monday at the Chicago Board of Trade amid fears that frost could halt the growth of the immature crop. Only scattered farmer selling of corn was reported due to delays in harvest. Country movement of soyabeans was relatively strong, as farmers market the oilseed straight from the fields.
US Agriculture Department said late Monday that 10 percent of the crop was harvested, off the five-year average of 25 percent. USDA said 15 percent of soyabeans were harvested, compared with the average of 36 percent. Corn bids firmed by 2 cents per bushel at rail terminals in Indiana and Ohio and by 8 cents per bushel at a rail terminal in Hereford, Texas.
Soyabean bids firmed by 5 cents per bushel in Decatur, Illinois, and by 6 cents per bushel along the Mississippi River. Cool and wet weather was expected to slow the harvest of corn and soyabeans in the US Midwest this week, and a killing freeze was forecast for this coming weekend, a forecaster said Monday. US No 2 soya grower, Illinois, finds soyarust. CBOT December corn rose 8 cents, or 2.40 percent, to $3.41-1/2 per bushel.