Grain futures continued to dip lower this week with planting in full swing and promising prospects for another year of bumper crops. In the cash market, corn basis posted some modest strength this week, while soybean basis continued to be flat, showing no significant change on average across the country.
For corn, export business continues to be seasonally brisk with weekly sales of 841,000 MT topping analyst expectations of 300,000 to 500,000. Although Gulf basis was up just slightly shy of 2 cents a bushel, river terminals as a group posted a nearly 4-cent advance. In ethanol, plants as a group were up 3 cents a bushel, but gains in the range of 5 to 8 cents a bushel were fairly widespread in the Western Cornbelt.
In soybeans, basis levels continue to be flat and most buyers are discounting basis for June/July delivery versus spot, suggesting limited chances of big basis rallies in early summer. For river terminals, they did find some strength this week, with a modest 2-cent advance. But, soybean plants were off 1-cent a bushel on average.
