CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soy barge bids firm, corn ease, ahead of US tariffs

CHICAGO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for soybeans delivered by barge to the U.S. Gulf Coast were higher on Friday, while corn bids eased, as Trump administration said it will roll out a wave of new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China next week, traders said.

Chicago Board of Trade grain and oilseed futures dipped on Friday, as worry about the longer-term impact of such tariffs on U.S. agricultural trade weighed heavy on the markets.

Meanwhile, improved weather in South America, which is allowing for rapid harvests in both Brazil and Argentina, is putting more inventory into the global market, market analysts said.

Cooler temperatures and rain forecasts throughout the U.S. Midwest next week should help river levels recover in some areas, traders said.

Barge availability along the Illinois River remains tight in some areas, which supported prices. BG/US

Chicago Board of Trade soyoil futures turned sharply lower on Friday, on an optimistic EU oilseed production forecast and heavier-than-expected deliveries against the board's March soybean oil BOH25 futures, traders said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed private sales of 20,000 metric tons of U.S. soybean oil to unknown destinations for shipment in the 2024/25 marketing year.

CIF soybean barges loaded in February were bid at 92 cents over CBOT March futures SH25, up 5 cents from Thursday, while March loadings were bid up 1 cent at 86 cents over futures.

FOB export premiums for March soybean loadings were up 3 cents at 93 cents over futures.

CIF corn barges loaded in February were bid at 77 cents over CBOT March futures CH25, down 1 cent. March barges were bid at 75 cents over futures, down 1 cent.

Export premiums for corn loaded in the first half of March were 97 cents over futures, up 2 cents. Offers for the last half of March were 92 cents over futures, steady from Thursday.

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