CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Corn, soy export premiums inch higher

CHICAGO, March 11 (Reuters) - Export premiums for corn and soybeans shipped from the U.S. Gulf Coast firmed a bit on Tuesday, reflecting brisk demand for tighter supplies following a slowdown in farmer grain sales in recent weeks, traders said.

U.S. farmer offerings of corn and soybeans into marketing channels that feed the Gulf stalled in February as Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell 4.8% for the month and CBOT soybean futures slipped 3%.

On Tuesday, CIF corn barges loaded in March were bid at 68 cents over Chicago Board of Trade May corn futures CK25, up 2 cents from Monday. April corn barges were bid at 67 cents over futures, up a penny.

FOB offers for corn shipped from the Gulf in April were around 77 cents over CBOT May futures, up 2 cents from Monday.

For soybeans, CIF barges loaded in March were bid at 73 cents over CBOT May SK25 soybean futures, down 1 cent from Monday. April soybean barges traded at 75 cents over May futures and June barges traded at 64 cents over CBOT July SN25 futures.

FOB export premiums for April soybean loadings were around 89 cents over May futures, up 3 cents from Monday.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture left its forecast for domestic corn inventories unchanged in Tuesday's monthly supply-and-demand report, surprising traders who were expecting a decline due to strong U.S. corn export sales.

The USDA pegged 2024-25 U.S. corn stocks at 1.54 billion bushels and exports at 2.45 billion bushels, both unchanged from February. The government also kept its forecast of U.S. soybean stocks unchanged at 380 million bushels.

Argentine oilseed workers will launch a nationwide strike on Wednesday at soybean processing plants due to a wage dispute with conglomerate Vicentin, a union leader said.

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