CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soy barge basis firms on lower futures, higher freight

CHICAGO, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to the U.S. Gulf Coast were firmer on Friday, recouping some losses earlier in the week as futures dropped and barge freight rates rose, while CIF corn basis bids were steady to up slightly, traders said.

Gulf exporters were well supplied with soybeans following a recent flood of farmer sales and sluggish in export demand, traders said. The U.S. soybean export loading pace is slowing seasonally as newly harvested Brazilian soy is beginning to flow to the market.

Traders are awaiting news from the White House about import tariffs that President Donald Trump has vowed to slap on Mexico, Canada and China. The White House said on Friday that tariffs will be implemented on Saturday, which was likely to trigger retaliation by the major U.S. crop importers.

Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy futures dropped in response to the tariff news. GRA/

Spot barge freight rates on Midwest rivers firmed on Friday, industry sources said. BG/US Ice on northern waterways continued to slow loading and navigation.

Soybean export demand was slow as global buyers awaited cheaper supplies from Brazil's record-large harvest. Traders from top importer China have been absent from the market this week due to the Lunar New Year holiday.

CIF Gulf soybean barges loaded in January were bid 3 cents higher at 60 cents over Chicago Board of Trade March SH25 futures, down 7 cents in the week. February soybean barges bid at 62 cents over futures, up 3 cents from Thursday but down 8 cents from a week ago.

FOB export premiums for February soybean loadings were down 2 cents at 75 cents over futures.

CIF January corn barge bids were up a penny at 70 cents over CBOT March CH25 futures while February corn export premiums held flat at 78 cents over futures.

For displays of CIF basis, click on the codes in brackets:
U.S. CIF Gulf soybeans GRYM
U.S. CIF Gulf corn GRYN
U.S. CIF Gulf SRW wheat GRYO
U.S. CIF Gulf HRW wheat GRYP
For displays of FOB basis, please click on the following codes in brackets:
U.S. FOB Gulf corn GRZC
U.S. FOB Gulf soybeans GRZD
U.S. FOB Gulf SRW wheat GRZE
U.S. FOB Gulf HRW wheat GRZF

LINKS Corn prices page:   cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageid=corn-cash-market
Wheat prices page:  cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageid=wheat-cash-market
U.S. barge freight                  BG/US
U.S. export sales estimates         USDA/EST
U.S. grain export summary           GRA/U
Brazil soybean export prices        SYBS
Brazil corn export prices           SYBX
Argentina grain prices              GRA/ARG
Russia grain prices                 GRA/RU