Wheat export premiums steady at US Gulf Coast

Wheat export premiums at the US Gulf Coast held mostly steady on Tuesday as worries about weather-reduced crops in western Europe and the United States were offset by the looming reopening of Russia's export market, traders said.
Russia said it will lift a nearly year-long ban on grain exports as of July 1 and that exports of all grains could total 15 million tonnes in 2011/12. Most of that volume was expected to be wheat.
Cheaper Russian wheat was expected to dent demand for US supplies as long as Russian wheat is available. Several buyers that had been on the sidelines awaiting the end of the export ban were poised to issue tenders, traders said.
Traders were awaiting a tender in the next few weeks from Egypt, the world's top wheat buyer that has been out of the market for months. Egypt said it will purchase Russian wheat with caution.
Algeria seeking 50,000 tonnes optional-origin wheat for September via a tender closing on Thursday. Russia appeared likely to win the tender, traders said. Japan seeking 112,215 tonnes food wheat via a regular tender closing on Thursday.
Drought-reduced winter wheat output in the southern US Plains and in western Europe, and rain-stalled spring wheat planting in the northern Plains kept a floor under US wheat basis offers amid tight global supplies of top quality grain.
Lower futures prices, with soft red winter wheat down 4.6 percent on Tuesday and spring wheat down 3 percent, expected to attract demand from high-quality wheat buyers, traders said.
"With another leg down in this market we could start seeing some of that inelastic demand come back," said one US wheat trader, referring to regular wheat importers that have recently limited purchases as prices soared.
US corn export premiums at the Gulf Coast were mostly steady on Tuesday amid routine demand, with limited volumes available from South America possibly supporting US demand. Soyabean export premiums at the US Gulf were flat amid seasonally slow demand as South American supplies were currently dominating the world market.