Weekly Cash Comments

Corn basis saw modest growth this week advancing 2 cents a bushel on average across the country, but bean basis was unchanged thanks to higher futures and better farmer selling.

In corn, basis levels were up largely driven by strength at ethanol plants in the Western Cornbelt. On average, ethanol plants posted a 3-cent gains but in the Western Cornbelt plants were up 5 to 10 cents a bushel in some cases. This week’s ethanol production was off 17,000 barrels per day from the previous week, but year-to-date production is still well ahead of last year’s pace. At the Gulf, export basis gained 2 cents a bushel but river terminals on average were up slightly less than that. Southern stretches of the Mississippi river and the Ohio River saw corn basis strength this week.

For beans, average basis levels were flat across the country, but soy crushing plants as a group were off 2 cents a bushel. Deliveries appeared to pick up this week with soybean futures shooting higher early in the week thanks to the threat of a Brazilian trucker strike. Also, bad weather in the US eastern Cornbelt kept plants in Indiana and Ohio bidding higher for beans as farm movement slowed, while river terminals along the Ohio River encouraged farmers to deliver beans over corn to their facilities. On average, river terminal basis levels were unchanged for the week in spite of a 4-cent advance at the Gulf.

—Cody Bills