Basis bids for corn and soyabeans shipped by barge to the US Gulf Coast were flat to lower on Monday, pressured by a lull in demand and expectations for improved shipping logistics on Midwest rivers, traders said. Warmer temperatures in the Midwest were likely to thaw sections of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, where vessel traffic has been limited for weeks due to ice.
Traffic remained halted on much of the Illinois but could resume later this week, a barge source said. Lock 52 on the lower Ohio River reopened after it was closed due to low water last week, barge sources said. Some global buyers were delaying purchases until after the US Department of Agriculture's quarterly grain stocks and monthly supply and demand reports due on Friday.
"Demand is lethargic," a corn export trader in the US Pacific Northwest said. The US Department of Agriculture said exporters sold 102,100 tonnes of US corn to Mexico, 132,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to unknown destinations and 120,000 tonnes of soyabeans to Egypt.
Egypt's state grain buyer separately said it was seeking global offers for wheat shipped from February 11-20. CIF bids for soyabean barges loaded this month were 40 cents a bushel over Chicago Board of Trade March futures, down about 6 cents from late last week. FOB Gulf soyabean offers for January soyabean shipments were 56 cents over CBOT March futures.
Bids for corn barges loaded this month were down about 3 cents from last week, at 39 cents above CBOT March futures. FOB basis offers for January corn shipments were about 68 cents over futures. Bids for soft red winter wheat barges loaded in January were at 50 cents per bushel over CBOT March futures steady to up 5 cents from last week.