Farmers were not panic selling with Chicago Board of Trade corn and soyabean futures expected to open lower on bearish US crop production numbers released early on Thursday from the US Department of Agriculture.
"I think that farmers have sold as much as they need to sell at this point, and they're willing to speculate on the beans they've got in storage," said an Illinois dealer.
Some dealers were posting protection of 5 to 10 cents per bushel on soyabeans and 2 to 4 cents on corn.
Dealers raised basis bids for corn and soyabeans to spark fresh sales to meet processor demand. Plants were running near peak capacity to take advantage of healthy processing margins on both corn and soyabeans. Export demand for soyabeans was also strong, said dealers and traders.
The only weakness in the cash market was corn river bids dropping 1 cent.
Barge freight bids for this week were higher on the lower Mississippi River at St. Louis but weaker on the lower Ohio River. Bids were steady on the Illinois River, brokers said. CIF values for corn at the US Gulf were steady, traders said.
Low water levels on the lower Mississippi River continued to hamper barge traffic due to draft restrictions, but it did not greatly impact barge freight, traders said.