Spot basis bids for corn and soyabeans firmed at a river terminal, while other basis bids at processors and elevators were steady around the US Midwest on Thursday, grain dealers said. Corn basis bids firmed at a river terminal along the Mississippi River, in Davenport, Iowa, by 1 cent. Soyabean basis bids firmed 2 cents at that same location.
Corn and soyabean basis bids were mostly unchanged at elevators and processors. Dealers expected farmers to continue booking sales late Thursday afternoon after a bullish US Department of Agriculture monthly supply and demand report lifted prices. Prices still were hovering near recent life-of-contract lows, which kept a lid on farmer offerings and resulted in slightly stronger cash bids for some processors and exporters.
The US Department of Agriculture earlier on Thursday said export sales of soyabeans totaled 1.127 million tonnes, largely to top importer China. The weekly total came in near the high end of trade forecasts and was the largest in three weeks. Chicago Board of Trade March corn settled unchanged at $3.58 per bushel. CBOT March soyabeans settled 2-1/4 cents higher at $8.82-1/4 per bushel.