US corn and soyabean export premiums held steady at the US Gulf Coast on Wednesday in muted trading ahead of Thursday's US Thanksgiving Day holiday. China remained largely on the sidelines, traders said, following a USDA announcement early Wednesday that the world's top soya buyer bought 780,000 tonnes of beans for delivery during the 2010/11 marketing year, in the biggest one-day soya purchase since 2008 and the third largest purchase ever.
There was further chatter among traders that China was interested in buying US corn, due to a shortage of Chinese domestic supplies and comparable prices, but no trades could be confirmed.
Wheat basis also held steady, traders said. Traders expect USDA on Friday to put all wheat export sales at 650,000 to 800,000 tonnes; corn at 550,000 to 750,000 tonnes and soyabean exports at 1 million to 1.25 million tonnes. Iraq will tender on Thursday to buy at least 100,000 tonnes of wheat from any origin, an Iraqi grains board source told Reuters late on Wednesday.
Offers are due by December 5. China's Banking Regulatory Commission called on banks to urgently offer special support to the agriculture sector in the face of severe shortages of corn, among other crops, marking first official admission that the country faces corn shortages, following repeated assurances from the government grain authority that the country has ample reserves.