Spot basis bids for corn and soyabeans showed mixed changes in the interior US Midwest on Friday as the corn harvest expanded and some farmers began cutting soyabeans, grain dealers said. The biggest move was in the soyabean basis at Lafayette, Indiana, which plunged 20 cents as new-crop soyabeans began arriving. Soya bids were mostly steady elsewhere.
The corn basis fell by a penny at Blair, Nebraska, but rose 2 cents at Council Bluffs, Iowa, 30 miles away. An Iowa grain dealer said farmers were actively harvesting corn but were delaying new-crop sales. An Ohio merchandiser said farmers were trying to harvest corn quickly, sometimes at relatively high moisture levels, to minimise losses from drought-hit ears falling on the ground.
River bids for corn were steady to weak while river soyabean bids were mixed. Rising costs for barge freight kept a lid on river grain bids. The National Oilseed Processors Association reported the US August soyabean crush at 124.773 million bushels, below an average trade estimate of 128 million and down from 137.38 million in July.
Rain on Friday slowed the harvest of corn and soyabeans in the Ohio River Valley but the weekend should be dry across the Midwest, a meteorologist said. Two light rain events expected next week could cause scattered delays. Temperatures could drop to near freezing on Tuesday and again late next week in the north-west Corn Belt, from the eastern Dakotas into far north-western Iowa. But the advanced maturity of the crops should minimise any damage.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, wheat futures jumped to a five-week high and corn also advanced after the US Federal Reserve's announcement of a new round of stimulus measures triggered broad gains in commodity markets. But soyabeans slipped on profit-talking before the weekend and expectations that the advancing US soya harvest will bring fresh supplies to market.