Spot basis bids for soyabeans firmed by 5 to 8 cents a bushel at several US Midwest soya crushing sites on Thursday, reflecting a slowdown in farmer sales due to a mix of wintry weather this week and unattractive prices, dealers said. Chicago Board of Trade March soyabean futures dipped to a near five-month low last week below $9.50 a bushel, although the contract has since rallied back above $9.70.
Corn bids were mostly steady with a few mixed changes on Thursday after the basis firmed at several ethanol and corn processing locations a day earlier. The basis moves and a jump in CBOT March corn futures on Wednesday triggered scattered corn sales by farmers. Forecasts called for milder weather in the Midwest in the coming days, with highs in Chicago reaching 40 degrees F (4 Celsius) by the weekend.
As of 10:47 am CST (1647 GMT), CBOT March corn was down 1/4 cent at $3.52-3/4 a bushel, March soyabeans were up 4-1/4 cents at $9.73 and CBOT March wheat was up 4 cents at $4.25-1/2.