US Cash Grains-Corn basis steady-firm as sagging futures chill farmer sales

CHICAGO, March 31 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for corn were mostly steady to firmer in the U.S. Midwest on Monday, supported by demand from processors and elevators at a time when falling Chicago Board of Trade futures have slowed farmer grain sales.

CBOT May corn CK25 dipped to $4.42 per bushel on Friday, its lowest level since December 6, before paring losses.

For soybeans, basis bids were flat at most locations with the exception of a terminal elevator in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the basis fell by a penny a bushel.

CBOT May soybeans SK25 have hovered between roughly $10 and $11 since the start of 2025, down from about $11.90 at this time a year ago.

Market watchers await the U.S. Department of Agriculture's U.S. planting intentions and quarterly grain stocks, which have a history of jolting CBOT futures. Both reports are due at 11 a.m. CDT (1600 GMT).

Ahead of USDA's reports, analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect the government to project U.S. 2025 corn plantings at 94.4 million acres, up from 90.6 million in 2024, and soybean plantings at 83.8 million acres, down from 87.1 million a year ago.

As of 10:23 a.m. CDT (1523 GMT), CBOT May corn CK25 was down 5-1/4 cents at $4.48 a bushel while May soybeans SK25 were up 5-1/2 cents at $10.28-1/2 a bushel.

Basis values are quoted against CBOT futures in cts/bu:

NOTE: 0 = Option price, UNC = Unchanged, UNQ = Unquoted

NC = Not comparable, DP = Delayed price, N/A = Not available,

F = January, H = March, K = May, N = July
Q = August, U = September, X = November, Z = December

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LINKS: 0#USCSHGRN-PM

For U.S. forward basis spreadsheets, please click:

CORN/BASIS, SOYA/BASIS, WHEAT/BASIS, MILO/BASIS

- CBOT corn report COR/

- CBOT soybean report SOY/C

- CBOT wheat report WHE/C

- U.S. grain barge freight values BG/US

- U.S. Midwest cash grain PM GRA/PM

- U.S. CIF/FOB Gulf Grain GRA/F