Spot basis bids for corn and soyabeans held mostly steady around the US Midwest on Monday, amid weaker demand for old-crop supplies as the beginning of fall harvest nears, grain merchants said. Harvest is expected to begin in about a month, and some producers are considering selling old-crop supplies to clean bins and make room for new-crop supplies, a dealer in Indiana said.
River basis bids have been pressured by slow demand in the US Gulf and higher barge freight rates. Basis bids for corn and soyabeans slipped by 1 to 2 cents at points on the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. Many processors and ethanol plants are said to have sufficient supplies for the next month or so, when the harvest is expected to start in the region.
Corn basis bid was 1 cent weaker at a western Illinois ethanol plant. Traders expect corn conditions to decline 1 to 2 percentage points in USDA's weekly crop progress report due late on Monday. Rainfall over the weekend boosted corn and soyabean prospects in some areas of the United States but the driest areas received no rain. Nearly 100 crop scouts will trek across thousands of miles of Midwest farmland this week in the annual Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour. CBOT corn and soya opened higher on Monday amid concerns about dry weather and disappointing US Midwest rains. Corn was up 9 to 10 cents, soyabeans up 19 to 20 cents and wheat up 10 to 11 cents per bushel.