CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Corn barge basis bids firm, soybean bids ease as freight stays high

CHICAGO, April 2 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for corn delivered by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals firmed on Wednesday, while soybean bids turned lower, as freight rates stayed high and President Donald Trump rolled out sweeping trade tariffs, traders said.

Trump said Wednesday afternoon he is imposing reciprocal tariffs to match duties put on U.S. goods by other countries, in a move that ratchets up a trade war that he kicked off on his return to the White House.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that Mexico does not plan to impose tit-for-tat tariffs on the United States, ahead of Trump's announcement.

U.S. barge freight rates continued to remain high on Wednesday, as river terminals along parts of the Ohio River Valley prepared for heavy rainfall and potential trouble loading barges in the next couple of weeks, brokers said. BG/US

CIF Gulf corn barges loaded in March were bid 2 cents higher at 79 cents over Chicago Board of Trade May CK25 corn futures. April corn barges were bid at 75 cents over futures, up 1 cent.

FOB export premiums for corn shipped from the Gulf in April were up 3 cents at around 93 cents over futures, while offers for May corn shipments were up 2 cents at about 82 cents over futures.

CIF Gulf soybean barges loaded in May traded on Monday at 75 cents over CBOT May SK25 soybean futures.

Meanwhile, either late Tuesday or early Wednesday, soybean barges loaded in April traded at 70 cents over May futures and May loadings traded at 72 cents over futures, traders said.

By late Wednesday, CIF Gulf soybean barges loaded in March were bid at 72 cents over CBOT May SK25 soybean futures, down 5 cents from Tuesday. April soy barges were bid at 71 cents over May futures, down 3 cents.

FOB export premiums for soybeans shipped from the Gulf in late April were up 2 cents, offered around 94 cents over May futures. May offers were steady at 87 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