Basis bids for corn and soyabeans shipped by barge to the US Gulf Coast were higher for prompt loadings on Thursday as limited farmer sales and slow vessel traffic on icy Midwest rivers continued to underpin prices, traders said. The CIF corn basis rose to the highest levels since March as some buyers at the Gulf bid aggressively for shipments from now through March.
Soyabean bids were also supported by a four-month low in Chicago Board of Trade futures. Weekly US corn and soyabean export sales came in within trade expectations while wheat sales were sharply below estimates, USDA data showed earlier on Thursday. Bids for corn barges loaded in January were up about 2 cents from Wednesday, to 49 cents per bushel above CBOT March futures. FOB basis offers for January corn shipments were about 63 cents over futures.
Soyabean barge bids climbed by about 8 cents for first-half January loadings to 48 cents above CBOT March soyabeans. FOB Gulf soyabean offers for January soyabean shipments were about 56 cents over CBOT March futures. Bids for soft red winter wheat barges loaded in January were up about 1 cent to 56 cents per bushel over CBOT March futures. January CIF hard red winter wheat bids held at 230 cents over the K.C. March contract for 12 percent protein grain.