US Cash Grains-Corn basis strengthens as harvest slows

Basis bids for corn firmed at processing sites and river elevators in the U.S. Midwest on Friday as the harvest of a bumper crop wound down, slowing the flow of grain into marketing channels.

* Rain showers slowed field work in a few areas this week and forecasts called for a wetter pattern over the next two weeks, following weeks of dry weather that kept combines rolling at full speed across the Corn Belt.

* The U.S. corn harvest was 81% complete and the soybean harvest was 89% done by Oct. 27, both ahead of average, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported this week, with the government slated to release updated progress numbers on Monday.

* The corn basis rose by as much as 10 cents a bushel on Friday at processing facilities in Chicago and Decatur, Illinois. The basis improved by 4 to 9 cents at grain elevators along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, where grain is loaded onto barges for shipment toward Gulf export terminals.

* A retreat in barge freight costs this week helped lift the basis at river elevators. Increasing shower activity should help lift low water levels on the Mississippi River, aiding barge movement.

* Soybean basis bids were mostly steady with a few mixed changes. The river basis improved by 6 cents a bushel at Morris, Illinois, but the basis at a Decatur, Illinois, soy crushing plant fell by a penny.

* Most crushers rolled their basis this week to the Chicago Board of Trade January soybean futures contract SF25 as the November contract SX24 nears its Nov. 14 expiration.

* The USDA reported that U.S. processors crushed 186.5 million bushels of soybeans in September, below an average of trade expectations for 187.4 million bushel. However, the USDA’s figure was up 11.3% from the previous month’s crush and up 6.7% from a year ago.

* On the CBOT, December corn futures CZ24 settled up 3-3/4 cents on Friday at $4.14-1/2 a bushel, while benchmark January soybeans SF25 ended down 3/4 cent at $9.93-3/4 a bushel.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Julie Ingwersen; editing by Diane Craft)