Soyabean spot basis bids firmed at interior points and eased at river terminals around the US Midwest on Monday while corn bids were steady to higher amid slow country sales of both commodities, grain merchants said. Farmers remained on sidelines even as corn futures rose to 26-month high and soyabeans to a 14-month high before futures for both crops drifted into negative territory.
Many growers content to delay sales until next year unless prices rise dramatically. Cash soyabean price target seen at $12.50 to $13 per bushel and corn at $5.50 to $6. Some dealers in northern Midwest noted long lines of trucks delivering freshly harvested supplies. One Ohio dealer said some smaller elevators dumping supplies at larger operations due to space constraints.
USDA late on Monday said corn harvest 91 percent complete, up 30 percentage points from five-year average, and soya harvest 96 percent done, up from normal pace of 79 percent, with harvest of each crop maintaining a record pace. Dealers continue to roll soyabean bids to CBOT January contract from November, taking only about 5 cents of the roughly 10-cent spread between the two contracts, effectively firming bids.
Soya bids eased at river terminals amid flat demand for the oilseed at the US Gulf. Barge freight costs were steady to weak on Midwest rivers. Soft red winter wheat bids firmed by 15 cents in northern Illinois and held steady elsewhere. Condition ratings for recently seeded winter wheat in the United States declined in the latest reporting week as dry weather in key growing areas kept taking a toll on the nascent crop. Profit-taking weighed on CBOT grain and oilseed futures as some traders nervous ahead of this week's FOMC meeting.