Grain basis levels continued to stagnate this week with both corn and beans each posting less than a 1-cent improvement on the week.
In corn, the biggest movement occurred at the Gulf where export bids were up 3 cents a bushel on nearby basis, but river terminals as a group posted only a 2-cent improvement. Strength was more prominent along the Ohio River areas were many terminals were up a nickel on basis. For the ethanol sector, production levels continue to slip along normal seasonal lines but plants as a group managed a modest 1-cent advance. In eastern Nebraska the two big plants continued to jockey for corn, raising nearby basis by 7 cents a bushel and currently stand at +10K, which exceeded the recent high of +8K in mid-March.
For soybeans, crushing plants were up a modest 1 cent a bushel but several plants in the Western Cornbelt boosted basis by 5 to 10 cents a bushel. In Minnesota, key crushing plants have been steadily ramping up basis with gains of 25 cents a bushel since the first of March. At river terminals, basis levels were up modestly with a 1-cent gain on average, but like corn, bean basis along the Ohio River should greater strengthen the rest of the country.
