Wheat export premiums flat at US Gulf Coast

Wheat export premiums at the US Gulf Coast were flat on Tuesday amid limited export demand ahead of a key US crop report on Thursday, traders said. Pending official restart of Russian grain exports in July also keeping a lid on demand for US wheat. Russian wheat offered at a discount to US wheat and Russia also holds a freight advantage to key markets in the Middle East and Africa.
Few large international wheat tenders outstanding and most appear to favour Black Sea wheat over US wheat. The tenders include Jordan on July 6 and Syria on July 12, both of which traders said may select Black Sea wheat over other origins. Russian wheat export prices were below government threshold that would trigger new export restrictions so the export market should reopen as expected. Corn export premiums at the US Gulf were mostly steady amid routine demand and weaker CIF basis values following a sharp spike in futures prices, traders said.
CIF corn values eased on Tuesday as futures jumped 3 to 4 percent. But the CIF basis had underlying support from slow barge movement caused by high water on some Midwest rivers, traders said. Traders monitoring corn demand by China. Import margins have turned positive for new-crop shipments and were near break-even for old-crop if import duties were waived, traders said. There have been some price inquiries by China in recent days, but no sales have been confirmed, they said.