Basis levels were mostly unchanged for corn across the US this past week, while soybean basis nudged lower on the late week strength in futures.
Basis levels at river terminals had the most weakness as a slowing bean export program has started to deflate basis levels. For the week, soy basis at river terminals dipped nearly 3 cents with key terminals along the IL River off 5 to 7 cents. For corn, there were some modest gains of 1 to 2 cents along the MS River terminals but IL River terminals were mostly 3 to 5 lower.
For end users, corn plants were mostly steady on the week with notable movement while soy crushing facilities were slightly weaker.
With soy futures leaping higher at the end of the week basis levels for beans may come under more pressure from active farmer sales. However, corn stocks held by farmers continue to be record large which will keep corn basis on the defensive as well between now and spring.
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