Spot basis bids for corn were mostly steady to weaker in the U.S. Midwest on Friday despite slow grain sales by farmers, while soybean basis bids were mixed, spot checks showed.

The corn basis tumbled by 15 cents a bushel at a Columbus, Ohio, rail terminal and by 7 cents at Blair, Nebraska, site of a large corn processing plant.

The corn basis fell by smaller amounts at Morris, Illinois, on the Illinois River, and an elevator in Council Bluffs, Iowa, but firmed by a dime at Toledo, Ohio.

Costs for barge freight rose at a few locations, a factor that tends to pressure the basis at river elevators.

However, soybean basis bids strengthened at Davenport, Iowa, where grain is loaded onto barges on the Mississippi River for shipment toward exporters at the U.S. Gulf, and at Morris, Illinois.

The soybean basis weakened at Lafayette, Indiana, site of a soy crushing plant, and at a Council Bluffs elevator.

Corn and soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade drifted lower, discouraging farmer grain sales, as weather forecasts called for periodic showers and milder temperatures next week that should benefit crop development.

CBOT September corn futures (CU25) settled down 2-1/4 cents at $3.99-1/2 per bushel while new-crop December corn (CZ25) ended down 1-3/4 cents at $4.19.

CBOT August soybean futures (SQ25) closed down 5-1/2 cents at $9.98-3/43 a bushel and new-crop November soybeans settled down 3-1/4 cent at $10.21 a bushel.
Source: Reuters