US Midwest interior spot soyabean and corn basis bids were mostly unchanged to firm Tuesday due to slow US farmer grain sales and steady demand, brokers said. Soybean farmers have refrained this winter from selling last autumn's harvest as prices are less than half last spring's high ($10.64 per bushel for spot CBOT soya futures). Dealers on Tuesday morning said farmers appeared to be holding out for spot CBOT corn prices to rally above $2.00 per bushel and spot CBOT soyabeans to rally above $5.30 to $5.50 per bushel.

Although farmer sales stayed slow early Tuesday, some dealers said inquiries picked up recently.

"We should start to see some (farmer) sales this month after a slow January," one Iowa dealer said. "We'll see sales if farmers begin to need cash to pay loans or property taxes, or if futures rally."

Chicago Board of Trade corn futures were called to open steady to 1/2 cent firmer on speculative short-covering, brokers said. Overnight US corn export business was quiet.

CBOT soyabeans were called up 1/2 to 1 cent, likewise on short-covering, brokers said. Overnight US soyabean export business was also quiet.

CBOT wheat futures were up 1/2 to 1 cent on mild short-covering, brokers said. Overnight US wheat export trade was slow.

Copyright Reuters, 2005