Export premiums for corn and soyabeans shipped from the US Gulf Coast were steady to lower on Tuesday, with values in some shipping slots easing in tandem with weakening CIF barge basis values, traders said. Soyabean barge basis bids fell by up to 4 cents a bushel while corn bids shed as much as 5 cents, weighed down by adequate supplies of both commodities and slumping barge freight costs, traders said. The lower values reduced grain acquisition costs for exporters.
Export demand for soyabeans remains brisk, with profitable crush margins in China supporting purchases of mostly November through January shipments, by the world's top soya importer, traders said. China imported 5.21 million tonnes of soyabeans in October, down 5.79 percent year-on-year, customs data showed on Tuesday. The volume was slightly below market forecasts of about 5.4 million tonnes and the lowest since February.
Some traders estimate China's soya imports could balloon to 8 million tonnes a month in November and December. An early December start to harvesting of Brazil's record summer grain crop will send exports of soyabeans and corn onto global markets sooner than normal this season.
Wheat export premiums at the Gulf were flat on light demand, with US supplies struggling to compete with cheaper grain from rival exporters. Egypt's GASC bought 180,000 tonnes of Russian wheat and 60,000 tonnes of Romanian wheat via a tender for mid-December shipment. A cargo of US soft red winter wheat was offered in the tender, but the higher cost of shipping from the United States made the grain too expensive, traders said. Traders are awaiting the latest US Department of Agriculture supply-demand outlook, scheduled for release on Wednesday.
November US soyabean shipments were offered at about 73 cents a bushel over Chicago Board of Trade January futures , which closed 12-3/4 cents higher at $10.11-1/4 a bushel. November corn shipments were offered at 71 cents over CBOT December futures, which closed 8 cents higher at $3.54-1/4 a bushel.