CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Corn, soy basis firm as futures dive on tariff worries

CHICAGO, March 3 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for corn and soybeans delivered by barge to the U.S. Gulf Coast were steady to higher on Monday, as futures plunged on fears that U.S. tariffs on key trading partners would spark trade retaliation aimed at farm goods, traders said.

Trading was muted as buyers and sellers awaited news about tariffs from the White House. U.S. President Donald Trump said that 25% duties on most imports from Canada and Mexico would be implemented at midnight, along with another tariff increase on Chinese goods.

Beijing is expected to target U.S. agriculture with tariff and non-tariff measures if Trump moves forward with higher levies on China, the top farm products importer.

Barge freight rates were mixed on Monday following a recent climb sparked by weather-related river shipping disruptions. BG/US

Chicago Board of Trade corn Cv1 and soybean futures Sv1 fell to three-month lows on Monday on tariff fears.

CIF soybean barges that were loaded in February were bid steady at 92 cents over CBOT March futures SH25, while March loadings were bid 2 cents higher at 88 cents over futures.

FOB export premiums for March soybean loadings were around 82 cents over CBOT May futures SK25, up about 2 cents.

CIF corn barges that were loaded in February were bid at 64 cents over CBOT May futures CK25, up 1 cent from earlier in the day. March barges were bid a penny higher at 61 cents over May futures.

Export premiums for corn loaded in March were around 76 cents over May futures, about unchanged.

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