US FOB,: Gulf soyabean offers firmer

Export premiums for soyabeans shipped from the US Gulf Coast were steady to firm on Wednesday, supported by good export demand from China, which has booked several purchases in recent days amid profitable domestic processing margins, traders said. CIF soyabean barge basis values edged higher, raising acquisition costs for exporters at the Gulf.
The US Department of Agriculture on Wednesday confirmed private sales of 66,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to China for 2016/17 shipment and 264,000 tonnes for 2017/18. The agency also confirmed 136,000 tonnes in 2016/17 in sales to unknown destinations. Sales announced over the last three days totaled 1.744 million tonnes.
Global soyabean demand is expected to increasingly shift to South American supplies over the coming weeks. A weak Brazilian real has increased the pace of farmer soyabean sales there, dragging down export prices to levels that have challenged the normal seasonal export dominance by the United States. Corn export premiums were flat to lower, weighed down by muted demand for near-term shipments and abundant available supplies.
US corn is competitively priced on the world market through February, while several key buyers were still in need of supplies for shipment in February and beyond, traders said. Wheat export premiums were generally steady amid light demand for soft red winter wheat and moderate demand for the higher-protein hard red winter variety.
The USDA is due to release weekly export sales data on Thursday. Net soyabean sales last week are expected to be below the prior week's tally, while corn sales may be larger, according to analysts polled by Reuters. December US soyabean shipments were offered at about 43 cents a bushel over CBOT January futures, which closed 1-1/4 cents higher at $10.49 a bushel. December corn shipments were offered at about 53 cents over CBOT March futures, which closed 2-1/2 cents lower at $3.58 a bushel. Offers for December soft red winter wheat shipments were about 75 cents over CBOT March futures, which settled 5-3/4 cents lower at $4.01 a bushel.