US FOB Gulf soyabean premiums steady

Soyabean export premiums at the US Gulf Coast held steady on Friday, supported by rising demand for newly harvested beans and firm CIF barge basis values, traders said. A lack of competitive Brazilian offers for near term shipments has boosted demand for US supplies, traders said. Argentine soyabeans, shipped to China in October, were about on par with US Gulf beans delivered to the top importer.
Chinese importers bought at least two cargoes of US soyabeans on Friday for shipment in late 2014, one from the Gulf Coast and another from the Pacific Northwest, a trader said. The USDA reported net soyabean export sales last week at 1.849 million tonnes for all marketing years combined, the most for a single week since mid-December 2014. The majority of sales were to China and unknown destinations.
Also, the USDA on Friday confirmed additional private sales of 180,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to unknown destinations for 2015/16 shipment. Spot CIF soyabean basis bids at the Gulf jumped on Friday afternoon to 105 cents a bushel over Chicago Board of Trade November futures, the highest spot bid since December 2014. Supplies available to Gulf exporters have been tighter than anticipated due to various shipping disruptions, including barge groundings due to low water on the lower Mississippi River and boat accidents. The US Coast Guard closed a section of the Mississippi River after 25 barges broke loose near Vicksburg.
FOB Gulf soyabean basis offers for shipments this month were nominally quoted around 125 cents over November futures, which closed 1/4 cent higher at $8.74-1/4. October and November offers were 106 cents over futures. US corn and wheat export premiums were quietly steady on sluggish export demand and persistent competition from cheap feed grains from rival suppliers. Corn export sales last week were the lowest since June 2014, according to USDA data.
The USDA on Friday cut its forecast for 2015/16 US wheat exports by 25 million bushels due to competition from other exporters. USDA also raised its 2015/16 global wheat stocks forecast by 6.7 million tonnes due to increased production in the EU and the former Soviet Union.