Corn and soyabean spot basis bids held steady around the US Midwest in an abbreviated trading session on Monday, with little market activity ahead of Tuesday's Christmas holiday, grain merchants said. Some processors and elevators were closed for deliveries in observance of the holiday while narrowly higher futures failed to spur any farmer sales of corn or beans, the dealers said.

Many growers are likely to remain on the sidelines for the balance of 2012 to avoid adding to their taxable income. Meanwhile, basis bids are expected to rise as supplies shrink from the harvest earlier this year. But reduced demand for corn from exporters and ethanol plants as well as a slowdown in near-record export demand for soyabeans could cap gains in the basis. US grains edged higher on Monday in thin trading before the Christmas holiday, notching their second straight gain in a modest recovery from the previous week's sharp losses.

Copyright Reuters, 2012