Cash basis bids for corn and soyabeans were narrowly higher along the mid-Mississippi River on Monday, supported by light farmer offerings and the cheapest shipping costs since August, grain merchants said. Reduced bids for barges have weighed on shipping costs on US Midwestern river, with benchmark barge freight on the Mississippi River at St. Louis declining to the lowest levels since before last year's autumn harvest.
Shippers along Midwest rivers are typically willing to pay more for grain when it costs less to transport to the US Gulf Coast export markets. Corn bids increased 3 cents per bushel and soyabean bids 4 cents at a river terminal in Davenport, Iowa. Corn bids also climbed 4 cents at a port terminal in northern Indiana while soya bids eased 5 cents at a processor in west-central Indiana.
