Divergence was the game this week, as corn and soybean prices continued to move in opposing directions. Corn managed a 7 cent advance in futures while cash basis levels were firmer by 1 cent a bushel, but beans couldn’t shake their negative fundamentals giving up 9 cents on the board and 4 cents on spot basis.
In corn, basis levels were bolstered by modest gains in ethanol plants and a more robust move by river terminals. Ethanol plants showed the most strength in the Western Cornbelt with a handful of plants posting gains of 5 to 10 cents a bushel. But in the Eastern Cornbelt gains by ethanol plants were mostly non-existent with a few plants bidding lower. At the Gulf, bids were up 6 cents a bushel, but increasing barge rates on the week, muted the Gulf’s impact on upstream river terminals with bids up only 2 cents a bushel.
For soybeans, basis levels were off 4 cents a bushels as late-season cash premiums paid by buyers have eroded quickly since the USDA report last week. Soybean plants in particular were hard hit this week, giving up 7 cents a bushel on average and many plants posting losses of 10 to 20 cents on basis for the week. At the Gulf, export basis was 8 cents higher but it had little impact on upstream river terminals which lowered basis by 3 cents on average for the week.
