Corn and soyabean spot basis bids were steady to mixed around the US Midwest on Friday as a slow pace of farmer sales was offset by reduced demand from exporters and processors of the commodities, grain merchants said. Country offerings of both crops were nearly non-existent after soyabean futures plunged to the lowest level since late June. Some farmers in the eastern Midwest delivered freshly harvested supplies but the growers made few, if any, new sales of corn or soyabeans.
But poor profit margins at ethanol plants and a slightly slower pace of soyabean export sales at the US Gulf capped gains in the basis despite the slow sales. Concerns that low water levels on the Mississippi River near St. Louis could lead to a closure of the main agricultural export channel also weighed on the basis at river houses north of St. Louis. A terminal in Davenport, Iowa, was not signing any new contracts for the next several weeks in case they are unable to ship them down the river, a dealer there said. Soyabean bids were firm in northern Illinois while bids for soft red winter wheat also gained, supported by slow sales. SRW wheat also is expected to be more competitive in the export market due to shrinking supplies from other destinations.