Cash premiums for soyabeans delivered by barge to US Gulf Coast export terminals in the near term rose on Thursday as shipping problems on Midwest rivers tightened supplies available to exporters, traders said. Corn premiums were mostly steady to weaker, slipping from an 11-month high reached on Wednesday when exporters scrambled for spot barges.
CIF soft red winter wheat basis bids were steady to lower on dull demand, while hard red winter wheat premiums were firmer. Barge traffic at Lock 52 on the lower Ohio River was halted on Thursday due to low water. The US Army Corps of Engineers will need about three days to raise a wicket dam there before vessels can begin using the lock chamber to pass through the area.
A queue of 22 vessels hauling 190 barges was waiting to pass through Lock 52 as of Thursday evening, according to Army Corps data. Shipping on the mostly frozen Illinois River is also shuttered, with ice expected to continue building under frigid conditions over through Saturday.
CIF bids for soyabean barges loaded this month were up 3 cents at 46 cents a bushel over Chicago Board of Trade March futures. Some loaded barges arriving at the Gulf over the next week traded at 60 cents over futures, traders said. FOB Gulf soyabean offers for January soyabean shipments were 56 cents over CBOT March futures, up 2 cents. Bids for corn barges loaded this month were 43 cents above CBOT March futures, down 3 cents from Wednesday. FOB basis offers for January corn shipments were about 69 cents over futures.
Bids for soft red winter wheat barges loaded in January were 5 cents lower at 50 cents per bushel over CBOT March futures. FOB Gulf export offers for January shipments were 70 cents over futures. January CIF hard red winter wheat bids were up 10 cents at 230 cents over the K.C. March contract for 12 percent protein grain, reflecting recent gains in futures and muted export demand for US wheat. January export offers were quoted around 235 cents over futures.
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