Spot basis bids for corn and soyabeans held mostly steady around the US Midwest on Friday as slow country offerings were offset by a lull in demand from processors, elevators and river terminals, dealers said. Farmers in Ohio delivered large amounts of freshly harvested corn in recent days to meet December contracts and helping to cap gains in the basis in the eastern Midwest.
Some farmers elsewhere sold small amounts of their supplies from storage as soya futures climbed 1.6 percent to a one-week high on Friday and corn gained modestly. "It's a rally off of what farmers think is the bottom, so commercials didn't buy anything," a cash trader said. Many growers have already closed the books on the year and are expected to put off any selling until 2012 for tax purposes.
Barge freight was weak on the Mississippi, Illinois and lower Ohio rivers, with the lower shipping costs supportive to corn basis bids on the waterway. But corn bids were weak at rail terminals in the southern US Plains, where many end-users have sufficient supplies, a trader there said. Soyabean bids fell 5 cents at a processor in Lafayette, Indiana, and were flat elsewhere in the region. CBOT grain and oilseed futures gained on forecasts for hot and dry weather in South America, especially in Argentina, which could stress the developing crops. Rain is not expected in Argentina until the end of next week.