Export premiums for soyabeans shipped from the US Gulf Coast were mostly steady on Tuesday, with old-crop values underpinned by scattered demand despite bumper crops and lower prices in South America, traders said. The US Agriculture Department on Tuesday confirmed private sales of 132,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to China for 2014/15 shipment.
Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures on Tuesday fell to the lowest level for a spot-month contract since October as US spring planting was ahead of the average pace. Traders were monitoring labour strikes in South America, although soyabean shipments have not been noticeably impacted as ports have adequate supplies to load vessels.
FOB soyabean basis offers held steady, with May nominally quoted at 90 cents over CBOT July, which ended 8-1/4 cents lower at $9.46-1/4. June shipments were also offered 90 cents over futures. FOB Gulf corn basis offers were mostly flat to lower, weighed down by weak CIF barge basis values and a lull in export demand. Nearby CIF corn basis bids fell to the lowest in two months for a spot shipping position. May barges traded as low as 55 cents over CBOT July futures, down 5 cents since last week.
FOB Gulf June corn was offered 2 cents lower at 70 cents over CBOT July, which closed 6 cents lower at $3.62. FOB basis offers for soft red winter wheat shipped in the near term were supported by higher CIF barge bids and as futures prices fell, but export demand remained slow, traders said.