Corn export premiums at the US Gulf Coast were mostly steady on Thursday, with nearby basis values supported by tight old-crop inventories, traders said. Nearby offers remained firm despite weak export demand. The US Department of Agriculture said weekly US corn export sales were 149,500 tonnes for the week ended June 6, below estimates for 250,000 to 450,000 tonnes.
Weekly US soyabean export sales were 480,700 tonnes, within expectations for 450,000 to 600,000 tonnes, while weekly US wheat export sales of 1.2 million tonnes topped estimates for 400,000 to 600,000 tonnes. High prices have curbed world demand for US corn, according to traders. Supplies of cheaper feed grains are available from other origins, including feed wheat from the Black Sea region and nearby shipments of corn from South America.
US grain futures fell, with corn hitting a three-week low and soyabeans down 2 percent, as ideal growing conditions in the Midwest grain belt eased concerns about tight old-crop supplies. [GRA/} Still, physical supplies will be tight until the autumn harvest. The corn market is particularly hungry after a US drought in 2012 dramatically reduced world supply.
In Argentina, the world's No 3 corn and soyabean supplier, scores of grain export vessels will be delayed next week due to a planned sales strike by farmers, a key port official said. A total of 149 ships were already lined up along Argentina's waterways on Thursday, waiting to load corn, soya and other agricultural products. Wheat export premiums at the US Gulf were mostly flat in the face of the advancing US, traders said.