CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soybean, corn barge basis surges on loading hurdles

CHICAGO, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for soybeans delivered by barge to the U.S. Gulf Coast surged on Thursday, as exporters rushed to fill vessels due to the slower pace of Brazil's harvest, traders said.

Basis bids for corn shipped by barge also climbed, as weather-related woes have made moving barges to the Gulf more difficult, they said.

Logistics continue to be a challenge on U.S. interior rivers, with low water levels on the Mississippi and high water on the Ohio causing barge loading difficulties for elevators, traders said.

Extreme cold weather this week has also created navigation hurdles, with ice clogging up some locks and dams, and forcing river traffic to move slower than normal, they said.

February CIF is in an inverse to March.

Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures closed higher amid lingering concerns over unfavorable crop weather in Argentina, which CBOT corn futures also edged up.

CIF corn barges loaded in February were bid up 1 cent at 84 cents over Chicago Board of Trade March CH25 futures, while March barges were bid up 1 cent at 78 cents over futures.

Export premiums for corn loaded in the first half of March were 94 cents over futures, while last-half offers were 89 cents over futures — both steady from Wednesday.

CIF soybean barges loaded in February were bid 8 cents higher at 85 cents over CBOT March SH25 futures, while March loadings were bid at 80 cents over futures.

FOB export premiums for March soybean loadings were steady at 90 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