Cash basis bids for soyabeans were firm in the US Midwest on Tuesday and corn bids were steady to firm as a major winter storm stalled grain movement across the region, grain merchants said. The storm was expected to dump 8 to 15 inches (20 to 38 cm) of snow across the central and northern Midwest by late Wednesday, with some places getting 20 inches more.
Some Midwest grain elevators closed early on Tuesday and were planning to remain shut down on Wednesday. However, a few dealers reported moderate forward sales of both soyabeans and corn as CBOT futures advanced, with spot March soyabean futures hitting a contract high.
Iowa soya processor bids rose by 5 cents. Soyabean and corn bids at the Toledo, Ohio, terminal firmed by 2 cents. The soya basis on the Mississippi River at Davenport, Iowa, firmed by 6 cents, reflecting stronger demand from exporters at the US Gulf.
CBOT soyabean futures rose nearly 2 percent and set contract highs on worries that a week-old port strike in Argentina, the world's No 3 soya supplier, might linger. A slowdown in grain movement and rising demand for animal feed, both associated with the big storm in the Midwest, added support to corn and soya futures. The US dollar index fell nearly 1 percent, adding support to grains. CBOT wheat fell on technical selling including profit-taking, but worries about a winterkill threat this week in the southern US Plains underpinned values.
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