soyabean spot basis bids were largely steady across the US Midwest on Thursday, supported by steady end-user demand and a slowdown in country offerings, grain merchants said. Farmer sales of both crops remained seasonally slow as the growers worked fields in advance of the spring planting season, which is expected to gain steam in the coming days.
Soyabean futures climbed more than 1 percent, touching a seven-month high, but there was little selling interest. Corn futures remained in the narrow range of recent days, failing to spur any farmer or commercial sales. Corn and soya bids each gained 1-1/2 cents along the Illinois River, where barge freight costs declined. Shipping costs were steady on other Midwest waterways.
Soya bids eased 2 cents in Decatur, Illinois, and firmed 3 cents in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with bids for the oilseed unchanged elsewhere. There was little talk of corn planting as most growers waited for the earliest planting date on Friday in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, and next week in No 1 corn state Iowa. US soyabean futures climbed for a second straight session on Thursday and touched a seven-month high, buoyed by good export sales, a drought-damaged South American crop and short-covering ahead of the holiday weekend.