Grain basis moved lower this week as a two-week recovery in the futures market seemed to run into headwinds. Farmer selling, especially in the Western Cornbelt has put basis on the defensive.
Corn basis was off 0.6 cents a bushel on average this week across the US thanks to increased farmer sales. Ethanol plants saw the biggest losses with a 1.6 cent a bushel drop with losses of 3 to 5 cents a bushel fairly common across IA, NE & MN. Meanwhile, river terminals had some stability this week as basis at the Gulf bids posted a 2 cent advance.
For soybeans, average basis levels were off 1-cent a bushel and unlike corn, is starting to see some weakness in the export market. Gulf bids were off 1 cent a bushel and upstream river terminals backed off on basis by 1.5 cents this week. Soy plants, which had been weaker the previous week, were mostly unchanged this week.
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