Soyabean export premiums at the Gulf Coast were mostly steady on Monday on seasonally improving demand for US shipments and rising supplies of newly harvested beans, traders said. FOB basis offers for wheat and corn held steady, with demand for US grain routine at best amid plentiful global supplies, traders said. Brazil soyabean prices remain competitive with US soyabeans in the near term as active selling by Brazilian farmers due to a weak real has weighed on prices. But US shipments are offered at the most competitive prices through February 2016, traders said.
China’s importers on Monday inquired about prices for December and January shipments from the United States. Trading activity was expected to slow late this week as markets in China close for a week beginning on Thursday for a national holiday. The USDA on Monday confirmed private sales of 249,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to unknown destinations for 2015-16 delivery and 1 million tonnes to China for 2016-17 delivery. The sales were believed to be further confirmation of last week’s signing of more than 13 million tonnes in purchase agreements by Chinese buyers visiting Iowa. FOB Gulf soyabean basis offers for October were a penny lower at around 104 cents over November futures, which closed 12-1/2 cents lower at $8.76-3/4 a bushel.
