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Weekly Cash Commentary

Cash Comments for week ending August 24

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Dollar 1362244 960 7202

Another big sell-off on spot bean basis as many buyers collapsed their spot offering to par with fall delivery. On the week, corn basis was unchanged while soybean basis sank 6 cents a bushel across the country.

Soybeans along the river were hammered this week thanks to higher barge freight and weakening Gulf bids. On the week, river terminals saw a 21-cent plunge in spot basis. Along with spot soy basis, new-crop bids continue to feel the pressure of an impending record large harvest backed by ample old-crop supplies. The table below shows what the average new-crop basis is by state and how that compares to basis at harvest in 2017. Aside from Michigan, most areas are seeing double-digit losses on new-crop basis. Especially hard hit are river terminals where high barge freight and lower export interest is putting basis levels on the defensive for the Fall. This year more than most will be a time for farmers to store soybeans to capture better basis in the Dec/Jan window.

New-crop Soybean Basis for 2018 vs Actual Soybean Basis in 2017

For end users, corn was mostly unchanged at ethanol plants. There were a few plants in MN/IA that gave a better basis by the end of the week. Soy plants were mostly under pressure this week giving up 4 cents on average.

The risk of trading futures, hedging, and speculating can be substantial. FBN BR LLC (NFA ID: 0508695)

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