Basis bids for corn shipped by barge to the US Gulf Coast spiked on Wednesday amid expectations that parts of the Illinois River will freeze and impede river traffic, traders said. Soyabean barge bids also firmed as soyabean and corn farmer sales remained minimal and trading volumes in the cash market were relatively thin ahead of Monday's New Year's Day holiday.

Ice was forming on the Illinois River and conditions were deteriorating but there were no shipping delays yet, a barge broker said in a client note. But some buyers were more aggressively bidding for corn and soyabean shipments this week to protect against any potential delays in shipments next week to the Gulf.

Bids for corn barges loaded in late December were up 4 cents to 35 cents above Chicago Board of Trade March futures. FOB basis offers for January corn shipments were 3 cents higher to 53 cents over futures. CIF bids for soyabean barges loaded this month were up about 2 cents to 41 cents a bushel over CBOT January futures. FOB Gulf offers for January soyabean shipments were 50 cents over futures. The US Department of Agriculture said exporters sold 110,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to China.

Bids for soft red winter wheat barges loaded in December were bid steady at 50 cents per bushel over CBOT March futures. FOB Gulf export offers for January shipments were flat at 70 cents over futures. December CIF hard red winter wheat bids were unchanged at 225 cents over the K.C. March contract for 12 percent protein grain. January export offers were quoted around 240 cents over futures.

Copyright Reuters, 2017