CHICAGO, July 29 (Reuters) – Export premiums for corn and soybeans held mostly steady at U.S. ports on Tuesday as limited loading availability during the upcoming autumn harvest continued to underpin values, traders said.
* High freight costs on Midwest rivers and U.S. railways also supported export premiums, while farmers have sold smaller-than-normal amounts of what they expect to harvest. Loadings were already nearly sold out until the end of 2014 at elevators on the U.S. Gulf Coast and Pacific Northwest, the traders said.
* CIF soybean bids fell sharply in the river market amid tight existing supplies and limited nearby demand. But robust new-crop demand, especially from top buyer China, supported new-crop CIF bids and premiums for the beans in the FOB market.
Read Also
U.S. tariffs looming large over canola market
U.S. tariffs are one market headwind facing Canadian canola prices, but Chinese levies are another wrinkle coming down the pipe for farmers.
* Private exporters reported the sale of 147,000 tonnes of U.S. corn to Colombia for delivery in the 2014/15 marketing year, which starts on Sept. 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. Exporters also sold 135,000 tonnes U.S. soymeal to unknown destinations for 2014/15, which will start on Oct. 1.
* Taiwan purchased corn from South Africa for shipment between Sept. 19 and Oct. 8, with offers priced more than $30 less than what a U.S. exporter offered, traders said.
* The main buying agency for top global wheat importer Egypt announced a tender seeking wheat for shipment Sept. 11-20, but U.S. supplies were not expected to be competitive with offers out of the Black Sea region, traders said.
* Export premiums for soft red winter wheat were steady after jumping on Monday for shipment slots in August and September, with the already sizable book of shipments for soybeans and corn leaving little room for wheat loadings, the traders said. (Reporting by Michael Hirtzer. Editing by Andre Grenon)
