Export premiums for US soyabeans shipped from the Gulf Coast held mostly steady on Friday in quiet trading as less expensive South American supplies lessened demand for US soyabeans, traders said. Demand for new-crop US soyabeans was muted on Friday following routine purchases by China earlier in the week for October and November shipment.
Traders could not confirm further talk of South American soyabean purchases by US importers. Traders confirmed earlier in the week that three cargoes, or around 90,000 tonnes, of Brazilian and Paraguayan soyabeans were bound for the US The US Agriculture Department on Friday forecast US soyabean ending stocks will more than double next season after a record-large harvest.
Corn export premiums at the Gulf were steady to firm, despite sluggish demand, as tight supplies supported prices. Exporters were not offering May shipments due to tight supplies. Some were reluctant to post offers until the last half of June or later because they were unsure they could source enough corn to fill a bulk vessel, traders said.
USDA said US corn ending stocks would nearly triple next year from this season’s tight supplies to more than 2 billion bushels. USDA also said China would import a record 7 million tonnes of corn in 2013/14. Wheat export premiums were mostly steady to firm as tumbling futures prices and a lack of farmer selling supported prices. A steep drop in corn and wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade may attract fresh global demand, but buyers were waiting to see how low prices get before stepping into the market.
CBOT wheat fell nearly 3 percent after USDA forecast record world wheat production in 2013/14 of more than 700 million tonnes. Iraq set a tender this week to buy a minimum of 50,000 tonnes of wheat from the various origins. The tender closes May 26. Traders said Australia may be the front runner for the business as US hard red winter wheat was currently uncompetitive.
