US FOB Gulf soyabean basis offers were mostly firmer on Tuesday on rising demand from China for post-harvest shipments and light farmer selling following recent steep price declines, traders said. Nearby soyabean offers were unquoted due to limited available old-crop supplies and competition from cheaper South American soyabeans on the world market.
Chinese crushers have stepped up prchases of US soyabean cargoes this week for shipment in the last quarter of the year. The world's top soya importer has also been forward booking new-crop Argentine supplies. The US Department of Agriculture on Tuesday confirmed a private sale of 120,000 tonnes of new-crop US soyabeans to China. Soyabean offers for September were unchanged at 180 cents over November futures and October was quoted 10 cents higher at 165 cents over.
Corn export premiums at the US Gulf were little changed amid lower futures prices and limited demand. Importers were reluctant to book large orders as prices have been falling consistently. FOB Gulf corn was steady for August/September at 100 cents over September futures and October/November/December slots were steady at 105 cents over December futures. US wheat export premiums at the Gulf were about steady. A recent steep price drop has made US soft red winter wheat more attractive on the world market, although exporters still face stiff competition from rival Black Sea region and European suppliers.
