Corn Cash Premiums Fall as Farmers Boost Sales; Soy Basis Steady

Cash premiums for U.S. corn shipped in August to export terminals near New Orleans fell relative to Chicago futures as farmers increased sales after prices rose. The soybean basis was unchanged.

The spot-basis bid, or premium, for corn delivered this month was 78 cents above September futures, down from 78 cents to 80 cents yesterday, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. Bids for delivery in September and October fell as much as 2 cents. The soybean premium was 58 cents to 64 cents.

“We saw a slight increase in farmer selling earlier today,” Tim Emslie, the research manager for Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota-based Country Hedging Inc., said in a telephone interview. “Farmers will be harvesting corn by early September” in parts of the Midwest, after unusually hot weather in July accelerated plant maturity, Emslie said.

Corn futures for September delivery rose 24.5 cents, or 3.6 percent, to close at $7.025 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, the biggest increase for the contract since Aug. 2 and 62 percent higher than a year earlier.

Soybean futures for November delivery rose 30.25 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $13.3175 a bushel on the CBOT, the biggest gain for the contract since May 18.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Wilson in Chicago at jwilson29@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net.