Cash premiums for soybeans shipped to export terminals near New Orleans increased relative to Chicago futures as U.S. export shipments jumped last week to the highest level in six months. Corn premiums were steady. The spot-basis bid, or premium, for soybeans delivered in September was 52 cents to 58 cents a bushel above November futures yesterday, compared with 52 cents to 57 cents on Sept. 24, government data show. The average spot-export bid was $11.835 a bushel, the highest level in almost 13 months. Corn premiums were unchanged at 35 cents to 38 cents above December futures. “Demand continues to be good for soybeans, with Chinese pricing for U.S. supplies,” said Troy Lust, a commercial grain consultant at FCStone LLC in West Des Moines, Iowa. “The pipeline supply of corn is starting to fill as Midwest harvesting is starting to increase.” Soybean futures for November delivery rose 2.5 cents, or 0.2 percent, to close yesterday at $11.285 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, after touching $11.44, the highest price since June 2009. The oilseed gained 5.3 percent last week, the most in 10 months. Corn futures for December delivery fell 9 cents, or 1.7 percent, to settle yesterday at $5.1275 a bushel on the CBOT, the biggest decline since Aug. 24. Earlier, the price touched $5.2875, the highest price for a most-active contract since September 2008. Government inspectors examined more than twice the amount of soybeans for export in the week ended Sept. 23 than a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday. Of the shipments, 45 percent were headed to China, the world’s largest consumer. Corn inspected for export fell to 34.003 million bushels last week from 35.669 million a year earlier, USDA data show. Shipments from Sept. 1 to Sept. 23 are down 11 percent to 129.24 million bushels from the same period a year earlier, according to the department. “We are at price levels that are slowing demand for corn” from both overseas buyers and domestic users, including makers of animal feed and ethanol, Lust said. 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.

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