Corn spot basis bids rose at terminals along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers on Thursday, lifted by tight supplies in the export pipeline and strong competing bids for the grain at processors and ethanol plants, dealers said. The corn basis in the CIF barge export market is trading at its highest in two weeks as shippers bid aggressively in efforts to draw supplies away from interior users.
Good profit margins have supported bids at processors and ethanol plants while farmers are delaying sales of anything that remains from last year's harvest in the hopes of selling at even higher prices later this summer.