Export premiums for corn, soyabeans and wheat at the US Gulf Coast held steady on Friday in quiet trade after spiking earlier in the week on concerns that low water levels on the Mississippi River would disrupt the flow of grain from the Midwest, traders said.
Water levels on the Mississippi from St. Louis to Cairo, Illinois, are forecast to drop to nine feet or less by early December as drought conservation measures will reduce inflows from the Missouri River and its reservoir system. The US Coast Guard said it would not close the river to navigation, but did expect shipping restrictions at some point in the coming weeks. Shipping industry officials said severe draft restrictions would amount to a closure because most commercial vessels need depths of at least nine feet.
CIF basis values for barge-delivered grain at the Gulf surged this week as exporters scrambled to secure near term supplies ahead of any river shipping disruption. Spot corn CIF bids were up 17 cents a bushel from a week ago, soya bids were 7 cents higher and soft wheat bids were 8 higher. Higher CIF values prompted exporters to raise FOB basis offers at the Gulf at midweek, despite mostly slow demand.