US FOB Gulf soyabean basis offers were steady to softer, adding to the drop in futures on Friday as China transitions its buying program to Brazil and Argentina, traders said. FOB Gulf wheat and corn basis values were unchanged late Friday, with the firmer dollar deterring fresh interest ahead of the weekend.
Soyabean offers at the Gulf for February loadings held at 102 cents over CBOT March, which closed down 7-3/4 cents at $9.73-1/2 a bushel. March offers were also steady at 85 cents over CBOT March. April held at 70 cents over while May offers fell 4 cents to 68 cents over May futures. China's cooling appetite for US soyabeans after a record breaking pace this autumn was underscored by USDA's weekly sales data released Thursday. China last week bought only 225,000 tonnes, a third of what was booked three weeks ago.
US SRW wheat at the New Orleans Gulf for February and March were unchanged at 125 cents over CBOT March, which closed up 1-1/4 cent at $5.27. Offers for April and May held at 125 cents over May futures. HRW at the Texas Gulf for February and March was also steady at 135 cents over KCBT March, which closed 2-1/4 cents down at $5.61-3/4.
The soaring dollar and ample, cheap wheat in Europe limits world demand for American wheat. Exports are running some 25 percent behind a year ago. US traders were encouraged by Egypt's Supplies Minister comments this week that Egypt may use a $100 million US credit to buy American wheat. But optimism was waning by Friday afternoon as traders had yet to see fresh interest from Egypt.