Corn steady, soy steady to firm on slow movement

CHICAGO: Basis bids for corn shipped by barge to the US Gulf Coast held steady early Wednesday, underpinned by slow movement of corn into the export pipeline but capped by supply pressure ahead of the Midwest harvest, traders said.

CIF soybean basis bids were mostly steady to firm on thin supplies after recent slow farmer selling, while wheat basis bids were unchanged, traders said.

Nearby barge freight was flat to weaker as a slow start to the harvest in some areas due to rain and a sluggish export pace limited demand for barges, traders said.

Corn and soybean basis retaining underlying support from thin supplies in the export pipeline as the recent drop futures prices halted fresh selling by producers.

Some scattered importer demand for US corn at lower prices, but competition from lower-cost supplies from rival exporters holding back further export sales, traders said.

Solid demand from US domestic processors for corn keeping larger supplies from entering the export pipeline, underpinning CIF basis values.

South Korea's NOFI bought a total of 85,000 tonnes of corn for December delivery. Origin was optional, US traders said.

South Korea's KFA seeking 55,000 tonnes South American or South African corn.

CIF corn basis bids for September loadings were steady at 58 cents a bushel over Chicago Board of Trade December futures. September barge bids hold a 2 cent premium to October amid light demand to fill October export commitments.

Copyright Reuters, 2011