US Cash Soymeal-Rail offers ease, truck basis flat

CHICAGO: Basis bids for US soymeal eased at some rail locations in the US Midwest on Tuesday, reflecting improved railroad service following weeks of weather-related delays.

"BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad continue to make significant progress restoring service following record flooding in the Midwest; some outages remain," the US Department of Agriculture said last week in a weekly grain transportation report.

Spot soymeal basis offers held steady at US truck points on Tuesday.

Ingredient brokers noted only routine demand for soymeal from animal feed producers, despite a drop in Chicago Board of Trade soymeal futures.

As of 11:50 a.m. CDT (11650 GMT), CBOT May soymeal was down $4.60 at $306.40 per short ton, its lowest level since April 1.

Farmer soybean sales were thin as CBOT soybean futures fell to a two-week low.

But soy crush margins remained relatively strong, encouraging processors to pay up for replacement soybeans. The CBOT May board crush was trading above $1 per bushel at midsession on Tuesday.