Hard red winter (HRW) cash basis bids were little changed in the southern US Plains on Wednesday as farmers watched as futures prices gained, led by strong corn and soybean markets, said merchandisers. "Producer selling was pretty firm today with the higher markets," a merchandiser said. Short-covering and Brazil's decision to scrap its corn import tax pushed Chicago Board of Trade May corn futures to a five-month high. Soybeans reached a nine-month top on technical buying and concerns over excessive moisture in Argentina.
US Plains farmers are checking the progress of their crops following recent storms that produced beneficial rains across parts of the region. "We got a fair amount of moisture, and much of it was needed but we could use some more," another merchandiser said. Protein premiums for railcar wheat to and through Kansas City on Tuesday were unchanged, according to the latest CME Group data. As of 12:40 pm CDT (1740 GMT), K.C. May wheat was up 11-1/2 cents at $4.88-1/4 per bushel.