Corn cash basis bids firmed around the US Midwest on Thursday as farmers continued to delay sales while surging ethanol futures improved profit prospects for makers of the grain-based fuel additive, grain merchants said. Corn bids gained 5 cents per bushel at a closely watched processor and ethanol plant in Decatur, Illinois, while bids also had a firm tone at eastern Midwest rail points and at an elevator outside of Chicago.
Soyabean bids rose 3 cents at a processor in Sioux City, Iowa, and otherwise held steady. Farmers put off sales of both corn and soyabeans even as futures rallied. With the harvest complete, the growers are stowing away supplies in the hopes of selling later this year or early next year at higher prices.
Ethanol futures surged to the highest levels since September on tight supplies, boosting profit margins and supporting bids for the yellow grain as ethanol plants were eager to continue making the biofuel.
US corn futures climbed for the second time in three days, gaining more than 1 percent on a strengthening cash market and persistently large weekly export sales.