Weekly Cash Comments

It was a mixed week in the cash grain markets with corn posting a modest two-tenths of a cent decline while soybean spot basis was up 2 cents on the week.

In corn, there was little incentive for corn buyers to be aggressive on basis as a reversal in futures prices helped push more supplies into the pipeline. At the Gulf, export basis was off 3 cents a bushel and river terminals followed suit also posting a 3-cent decline for the week. The only bright spot was ethanol plants which held their ground on basis and ended the week mostly unchanged.

For soybeans, it was a different story this week with basis gains of 2-cents a bushel on average across the US. Most of the stimulus was created from soy crushing plants which posted a nearly 4-cent gain on the week. Plants on the Eastern Seaboard had strong gains of 5 to 15 cents a bushel as local supplies are tapped out and processors need to find supplies from Ohio and Indiana. In exports, basis at the Gulf was off 2 cents a bushel and river terminals let basis drop down by 1-cent a bushel.

—Cody Bills