Spot basis bids for corn and soyabeans held mostly steady across the US Midwest on Friday as rangebound moves in the Chicago Board of Trade futures market failed to spark significant farmer sales of the crops, grain merchants said. Many growers remained entrenched on the sidelines following a steep sell-off in corn and soyabean futures on Wednesday. Growers sold large amounts of the crops in March and were now delaying sales in the hopes of selling more at higher prices.
Soyabean bids fell 5 cents per bushel at a large processing plant in Decatur, Illinois, after rising by that amount earlier this week. The corn basis firmed 1 cent at a processor and ethanol plant in Blair, Nebraska. Drier weather and warmer temperatures were forecast for the US Corn Belt late next week, offering farmers a window for spring fieldwork following heavy rains this week, an agricultural meteorologist said.