CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soybean barge basis drops after China tariff increase

CHICAGO, April 4 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for soybeans delivered by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals fell sharply on Friday after China slapped steep tariffs on all American goods in a move that was seen stifling demand from the top customer for U.S. soy, traders said.

Spot cash bids for soybeans at the Gulf reached their lowest flat-price level since September 2020 on Friday.

China on Friday struck back at the U.S. tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump with a slew of countermeasures including extra levies of 34% on all U.S. goods and other export curbs, deepening the trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods were expected to accelerate a move by Beijing to source imports from other suppliers such as Brazil, a shift that began with a trade war during Trump's first term.

Export premiums for soybeans loaded at the Gulf slid along with lower CIF values, although demand remained slow, traders said.

Barge freight rates were firm due to lock delays on the Mississippi River near St. Louis. Long lines of barge tows are waiting to pass through locks there as crews race to complete maintenance on lock chambers by next week. BG/US

CIF Gulf soybean barges loaded last month were bid at 64 cents over Chicago Board of Trade May SK25 soybean futures, down 6 cents.

FOB export premiums for soybeans shipped from the Gulf in April were down 4 cents at 90 cents over May futures.

CIF Gulf corn barges loaded in March were down 6 cents at 74 cents over CBOT May CK25 corn futures.

FOB export premiums for corn shipped from the Gulf in April fell 5 cents to around 85 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