CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Corn barge bids steady-to-weak as freight costs ease

CHICAGO, April 21 (Reuters) - Basis bids for corn delivered by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals nudged lower on Monday following a slight decline in costs for barge freight, traders said.

Empty barges for this week on the Mississippi River at St. Louis were offered at 375% of tariff, down from 400% last week, amid a lack of demand from shippers, barge sources said. BG/US

Gulf grain markets were steady, reflecting slow grain sales by farmers who are busy with spring planting and uninspired by the current prices.

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) July corn futures CN25 hovered near last week's trading range on Monday, settling down 1/4 cent at $4.90 a bushel, while soybean futures SN25 turned lower, ending down 6-1/4 cents at $10.41-1/2 a bushel. GRA/

After the close of the CBOT, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the U.S. corn crop was 12% planted by April 20, topping the five-year average pace of 10%, and soybeans were 8% seeded, above the five-year average of 5%.

The USDA reported export inspections of U.S. corn in the latest week at 1,702,813 metric tons, topping a range of trade expectations for 1,200,000 to 1,655,000 tons.

Weekly export inspections of U.S. soybeans totaled 550,924 tons, the USDA said, in line with expectations for 400,000 to 750,000 tons, while wheat inspections totaled 510,250 tons, above a range of trade estimates for 200,000 to 450,000 tons. USDA/I

The Trump administration last week shielded domestic exporters and vessel owners servicing the Great Lakes, the Caribbean and U.S. territories from port fees to be levied on China-built vessels. A Federal Register notice posted by the U.S. Trade Representative was watered down from a February proposal for fees on China-built ships of up to $1.5 million per port call that had worried the global shipping industry.

At the Gulf on Monday, CIF corn barges loaded in April were bid at 71 cents over CBOT May corn CK25 futures, down 2 cents from Thursday.

FOB export premiums for corn shipped in both April and May were unchanged at about 86 cents over CBOT May futures.

For soybeans, CIF Gulf barges loaded in April were bid at 78 cents over CBOT May SK25 futures, steady with Thursday, and bids for May loadings were unchanged at 77 cents over futures.

Export premiums for soybeans loaded from the Gulf in April held at about 94 cents over May futures and May shipments were offered steady at 89 cents over futures.

U.S. markets were closed on Friday for the Good Friday holiday.

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