US Midwest corn bids sharply higher

Corn cash basis bids were unchanged to sharply higher in the US Midwest on Wednesday as futures slumped to a three-week low and farmers continued to delay sales, grain merchants said. Chicago Board of Trade corn futures declined by more than 1 percent on pressure from the advancing harvest, forcing grain users to bid up their basis to entice farmer sales. Growers were storing much of their harvest in the hopes of selling later at higher prices.
Bids surged by as much as 19 cents per bushel at a processor near Chicago and by 8 cents at an elevator in northern Indiana. The corn basis also gained for the second straight day at a closely tracked wet mill in Blair, Nebraska. Soyabean basis bids were steady to slightly lower, pressured by a spike in farmer sales this week and a harvest that has advanced more than the corn harvest so far.