Export premiums for soyabeans shipped from the US Gulf Coast were steady to higher on Thursday as flooding on the Mississippi River choked off near term supplies and supported prices for February shipments, traders said. High water levels on the lower Mississippi River have restricted the movement of barges to the Gulf for more than two weeks. Three separate barge tow accidents have been reported in the past three days. The river remains open, but navigation restrictions are in place, the Coast Guard said.
Solid demand from China for imported soyabeans underpinned the market. One cargo of US Gulf soyabeans traded at midweek for shipment in early February. Other purchases by the world's top soya importer have been for February shipment from Brazil and the US Pacific Northwest and for shipment later in the spring from Argentina, traders said. Wait times to load at some large Brazilian ports hovered around 60 days, traders said. The delays have diverted some buying interest to US shipments.
FOB corn export premiums held mostly steady on signs of improving demand for US supplies as South American corn prices have jumped in recent days. After months of prices well above South American offers, near term Gulf corn shipments to Asia are now competitively priced on the world market.
Stronger CIF corn basis bids amid limited farmer sales and river shipping delays also underpinned FOB values. The bulk of recent US corn demand remains concentrated among regular buyers such as Japan, Mexico and Colombia. The USDA on Thursday confirmed private sales of 102,100 tonnes of US corn to Mexico for 2015-16 delivery. US Wheat export premiums were flat on sluggish demand.
FOB Gulf soyabeans loaded in early February were offered at about 90 cents a bushel over CBOT March futures, which closed 2-1/4 cents higher at $8.82-1/4 a bushel. February corn offers were around 63 cents over CBOT March futures, which ended unchanged at $3.58 a bushel. February shipments of soft red winter wheat at the Gulf were offered at about 68 cents over CBOT March futures, which closed 9-1/4 cents lower at $4.68-3/4 a bushel. Spot hard red winter wheat offers were about 115 cents over March futures, which closed a 7-1/2 cents lower $4.68-1/2 a bushel.