Corn and soybean basis moved in opposite directions this week as farm soybean sales picked up and weakening Gulf bids pushed basis lower. For the week, corn basis was up 2 cents a bushel while soybean basis lost 2 cents a bushel.
For corn, basis levels were firmer by 3 cents a bushel at ethanol plants as margin levels for processing corn to ethanol improved the past week for the first time in about a month. Nonetheless, margins continue to be tight and about 6 plants have idled production in the past few weeks. At the Gulf, export basis levels were up 4 cents on the week and river terminals posted a 3-cent advance
In soybeans, basis weakness was widespread across much of the country with the exception being Eastern Cornbelt regions. On average, soybean basis dipped 2 cents over the last week as a 50-cent advance in nearby soybean futures pushed more farmer beans in to the pipeline. At the Gulf, basis levels weakened sharply, dropping 14 cents a bushel as export business starts to cool. As a result, river markets showed an 11-cent loss for the week, while soybean plants were off 3 cents for the week.
