CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soy barge bids firm; corn basis eases

CHICAGO, March 13 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to the U.S. Gulf Coast firmed on Thursday, reflecting exporter demand for the oilseed while farmer sales into Midwest grain elevators have been minimal in recent weeks, traders said.

But CIF corn barge bids softened, retreating after firming over much of last week.

CIF Gulf soybean barges loaded in March were bid at around 77 cents over Chicago Board of Trade May SK25 soybean futures, up a nickel per bushel from Wednesday.

FOB export premiums for April soybean loadings were unchanged at around 89 cents over May futures.

For corn, CIF barges loaded in March were bid at 66 cents over CBOT May corn futures CK25, down 2 cents from Wednesday.

FOB offers for corn shipped from the Gulf in April held steady at around 77 cents over CBOT May futures.

Weekly U.S. export sales were strong. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported sales of U.S. old-crop soybeans in the week ended March 6 at 751,700 metric tons, above a range of trade expectations for 275,000 to 700,000 tons, and wheat sales of 783,400 tons topped expectations for 275,000 to 650,000 tons. EXP/SOY EXP/WHE

Weekly sales of old-crop corn totaled 967,300 tons, in line with expectations for 725,000 to 1,400,000 tons. EXP/CORN

South Korean feed makers were actively booking corn on the global market in the last day, pouncing after CBOT corn futures Cv1 fell 2% on Wednesday. GRA/TEND

U.S. traders are looking ahead to the Midwest planting season. Most corn and soybeans are seeded in April and May, but traders cited reports of a few planters already rolling in Illinois. The USDA is scheduled to release its annual planting intentions report on March 31, based on surveys of some 70,000 farmers.

Argentina's oilseed workers lifted a strike that had paralyzed soy processing plants since Wednesday, their union said, after the government called to restart talks with biodiesel firm Explora.

Brazilian crop agency Conab raised its estimate of the country's soybean harvest to a record-high 167.37 million tons, up from its previous forecast of 166.01 million tons.

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