Export premiums for soyabeans shipped from the US Gulf Coast held mostly steady on Thursday, underpinned by persistent demand for both old- and new-crop supplies as prices for South American cargoes are elevated, traders said. The US Department of Agriculture on Thursday confirmed private sales of 240,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to China for 2016-17 shipment. It was the fourth soyabean sales announcement this week, with a total of 677,000 tonnes reported sold for the current and next marketing years.
Chinese importers were bidding for more Gulf vessels for July and August shipment and Pacific Northwest shipments in October and November, traders said. Some cargoes have also been switched for loading from the US Gulf instead of Brazil, they said. Brazil's government forecaster lowered its soya crop forecast on Thursday to 96.91 million tonnes, from a previous estimate of 98.98 million, and warned of contract washouts in the second half of the year.
Spot export premiums at some Brazilian ports were around 105 cents per bushel above Chicago Board of Trade July futures, with replacement costs at around 170 cents over, traders said. US Gulf shipments loaded in late June are offered at around 60 cents over CBOT July futures, which closed down 1-3/4 cents at $11.76 a bushel.
Corn export premiums were mostly unchanged on Thursday, underpinned by strong demand for old-crop shipments amid limited supplies available from South America. However, cheap Black Sea corn and feed wheat continued to undercut some US demand from cost-conscious Asian buyers. Old-crop US corn export sales jumped ahead of the year-ago pace last week as concerns about Brazilian supplies fueled demand for US shipments. Also, a near-record number of different countries booked purchases last week, according to the USDA.
The USDA confirmed private sales of 116,360 tonnes of old-crop US corn to unknown destinations. Traders said the sale was likely to Japan. Brazil's Conab slashed its total corn crop forecast by 4.7 million tonnes to 79.96 million tonnes, largely due to a sharp reduction in its drought-hit winter crop. Exports were reduced 2 million tonnes to 28.4 million tonnes. Traders are awaiting the USDA's monthly supply-demand reports due on Friday morning. Analysts expect lower corn and soyabean ending stocks, as well as possible increases in US exports and reductions to South American crops.