US Soy Basis Firms at Crushers on Wet Weather Slowing Harvest

CHICAGO, Sept 21 (Reuters) — Spot basis bids for soybeans firmed at processing sites in the western US Midwest on Monday, reflecting brisk demand for prompt deliveries of the oilseed as rainy weather slowed the harvest of new-crop supplies, merchandisers said. Soy basis bids were steady to weaker elsewhere, and the corn basis was mixed at Midwest elevators and processors, spot checks showed. A crushing facility in Sioux City, Iowa, was bidding $1 a bushel over the price of Chicago Board of Trade November soybean futures for soybeans delivered through Friday, while the posted bid for soybeans delivered the following week was 15 cents below futures. Similarly, a Des Moines, Iowa, soy processor was bidding 70 cents over futures for soybeans delivered this week, and 30 cents under futures for deliveries next week. Nationally, the US soybean harvest was 12% complete by Sunday, ahead of the five-year average of 8%, the US Department of Agriculture said in a weekly progress report. However, in Iowa, the No. 2 soybean state, harvesting was 2% complete, lagging the five-year average of 5%. "An extremely soggy week across much of Iowa made it difficult for farmers to get much fieldwork done, with heavy rainfall leading to flooding in some areas,” Iowa state agriculture secretary Mike Naig said in a statement. For corn, the basis improved by 3 cents a bushel at a processing plant in Blair, Nebraska, and by 2 cents at an elevator in Council Bluffs, Iowa, while the basis fell by 3 cents at Davenport, Iowa, on the Mississippi River. CBOT November soybeans settled up 24-1/2 cents at $13.28 per bushel and December corn ended up 15-1/2 cents at $5.43 a bushel, buoyed by optimism that a meeting this week between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could expand Chinese buying of American crops. GRA/ Basis values are quoted against CBOT futures in cents/bu: Current Previous Bid Bid Chicago, Illinois Corn processors -3 + Z -3 + Z UNC Corn elevators +5 + Z +5 + Z UNC Soybean elevators -20 + X -20 + X UNC Wheat elevators -25 + Z -25 + Z UNC Wheat processors +0 + Z +0 + U NC Decatur IL corn -15 + Z -15 + Z UNC Decatur IL soybeans -20 + X -20 + X UNC Burns Harbor IN corn UNQ UNQ UNC Burns Harbor IN soy UNQ UNQ UNC Lafayette IN soy +10 + X +10 + X UNC Toledo OH (port) Corn -15 + Z -15 + Z UNC Soy -30 + X -30 + X UNC SRW wheat -35 + Z -35 + Z UNC Davenport IA (river) Corn -78 + Z -75 + Z DN 3 Soy -70 + X -70 + X UNC Evansville IN (rail) 15-car CSX corn -7 + Z -7 + Z UNC Cincinnati OH (rail) 3-car corn UNQ UNQ UNC Hereford TX corn +120 + Z +120 + Z UNC Columbus OH (rail) 3-car corn +4 + Z +4 + Z UNC Morris IL (river) Corn -34 + Z -34 + Z UNC Soybeans -15 + X -15 + X UNC Fort Worth TX corn UNQ UNQ UNC Blair NE corn -15 + Z -18 + Z UP 3 Council Bluffs, IA (elevator) Corn -30 + Z -32 + Z UP 2 Soy -53 + X -35 + X DN 18 Des Moines IA soy +70 + X +40 + X UP 30 Sioux City IA soy +100 + X +75 + X UP 25 NOTE: 0 = Option Price, UNC = Unchanged, UNQ = Unquoted,