Spot cash basis bids for soyabeans in the interior US Midwest remained soft on Monday, with values easing in a few locations following a pick-up in farmer sales last week, dealers said. Basis bids at soya crushing locations in Iowa and Indiana were down 35 to 40 cents from one week ago, while values at Decatur, Illinois, were down 20 cents for the week.
Cash bids for corn were mixed Monday with values rising 7 cents at Council Bluffs, Iowa, and falling 5 cents at Blair, Nebraska. The corn harvest resumed in parts of western Iowa and eastern Nebraska following scattered weekend rains. Western rail corn bids and offers were far apart, with the basis for Hereford, Texas, bid at 80 cents over CBOT September futures and offered at 96 cents over, one source said, adding that he expected volatile moves in the basis to continue.
USDA said the US corn harvest was 6 percent complete, up from 4 percent a week earlier and ahead of the five-year average of 2 percent. USDA offered no national harvest figure for soyabeans but said 8 percent of the soya crop was dropping leaves, up from 4 percent the previous week and ahead of the five-year average of 4 percent.
Tropical Storm Isaac was due to hit the US Gulf Coast between Florida and Louisiana Tuesday night or early Wednesday. US grain elevators on the Gulf coast were shut and barges carrying grain and other goods on the lower Mississippi River were halted in preparation. The Andersons Inc said its new 3.8 million bushel grain elevator in Custer County, Nebraska, will be open for the 2012 harvest.