Dealings were slow on Monday ahead of the Christmas holiday. Union dock workers at four Pacific Northwest ports, a key export location for farm products to Asia, were set to announce on Monday the results of a vote on a "final" contract offer from grain shippers. If workers reject the proposal, as urged by union leaders, it could mean a labour clash in the second-largest US grain-exporting region.
For traders, concerns about lower prices for South American soyabeans trumped the threat of a strike by dock workers in the Pacific Northwest, said Karl Setzer, grain solutions team leader for MaxYield Co-operative. Foreign buyers of grain have not turned away from the United States as a supplier because of concerns about labour, Setzer said. "More than anything, it's been the prices" that have worried traders and driven soya business to South America from the United States, he said.
Traders also were keeping an eye on the Mississippi River, where low water levels have slowed transportation to the Gulf of Mexico. Daily 16-hour closures of the Mississippi near Thebes, Illinois, have been suspended until the morning of December 27 as workers removing river-bottom rock take a holiday break, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers. The suspension allows for round-the-clock navigation through the shallow stretch, although shipping is still slow due to low water.
US grain futures edged higher on Monday, notching their second straight session of gains in a modest recovery from the previous week's sharp losses. Soyabeans were underpinned by bargain hunting after prices slid to a one-month low last week, and by technical buying. US corn premiums at the Gulf were unchanged in quiet pre-holiday activity, traders said. Higher spot premiums in South America have recently bolstered hopes that sluggish US demand will improve. Wheat export premiums at the Gulf held steady with a firm tone, traders said. Traders are optimistic about the potential for improved export demand for US wheat because it has become competitively priced on the global market.