CHICAGO: Spot basis bids for corn firmed at US Midwest river terminals on Thursday afternoon, while those for soyabeans were steady to mixed, grain merchants said.

Corn bids rose at river terminals along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. However, CIF corn basis was mostly steady to weaker while CIF soyabean basis bids were unchanged.

The river soyabean basis along the Mississippi ebbed after disappointing soyabean exports and sales while at an Iowa processor, soya bids went up by 7 cents per bushel as harvest neared completion and merchants wanted to encourage farmer sales.

Shipping costs for vessels heading to the US Gulf were unchanged except for a slight increase at the Illinois River.

The US Department of Agriculture confirmed US soyabean sales of 126,000 tonnes to China and US corn sales of 140,000 tonnes to Saudi Arabia through its daily reporting system. Soyabean futures prices rebounded on technical buying while corn and wheat futures were mixed on higher dollar. —Reuters