Spot basis bids for corn held mostly steady at elevators around the interior US Midwest on Friday but slipped slightly at western Midwest processors as Chicago Board of Trade corn futures touched record highs, dealers said. CBOT corn and soyabean futures were boosted by extreme drought conditions across the crop-growing region of the US Corn Belt. The worst drought in 50 years has parched fields and slashed yield prospects around the region, with little to no rain in sight.
Dealers noted light sales of mainly old-crop supplies early on Friday but farmers remained reluctant to sell large amounts of new-crop corn or soyabeans even as CBOT prices touched record highs. The new-crop contracts for each crop jumped 2 percent to contract highs at the Chicago Board of Trade, with the extreme drought conditions forecast to continue through early August, a time when soyabeans are most vulnerable.