After a lengthy and drawn out harvest, grain basis levels have mostly stabilized and were mostly unchanged across the country. Corn basis was off 1-cent a bushel in the last week across the U.S while soybean basis was unchanged.
The main driver in the corn market came from the Gulf region, where corn basis was off 11 cents in the past week. Sluggish export business has put Gulf basis on the defensive. However, as futures price have begun to slip – nearby March is off 31 cents in the past week – this may help U.S. corn be more competitive in the world market. Outside of river markets, corn basis was mostly steady to even slightly higher over the past week.
In soybeans, the market found little direction as Gulf basis levels were mostly unchanged and harvest has wrapped up for soybeans. There was some moderate weakness along river markets as barge rates inched higher in some river areas.
Look for basis levels to increase along normal seasonal lines with harvest behind us. Corn in particular will see the best gains in basis in the coming weeks as the sell-off in futures and wide carry will keep most farmers holding tight to their supplies.