CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Corn barge bids creep up on thin farmer sales

CHICAGO, May 22 (Reuters) - Basis bids for corn delivered by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals ticked higher on Thursday, supported by demand from exporters, while farmer offerings of the grain remained thin, traders said.

• At the Gulf, CIF corn barges loaded in May traded at 70 cents over Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn CN25 futures and were rebid at 69 cents over futures, up 1 cent from Wednesday's last bid. June corn barges were bid at 68 cents over futures, also up a penny.

• July CIF corn barges traded at 67 cents over futures.

• FOB export premiums for corn shipped from the Gulf in June held steady at about 80 cents over CBOT July corn futures, but premiums for August and September loadings firmed by a nickel per bushel.

• Soybean barge bids were steady to a shade weaker. CIF barges loaded in May were bid at 62 cents over CBOT July SN25 soybean futures, down 1 cent from Wednesday. June soy barges were bid steady at 68 cents over futures.

• FOB export premiums for soybeans loaded from the Gulf in June were nominally offered around 78 cents over July futures, up 1 cent from Wednesday, but suppliers had little to sell until late August, traders said.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported export sales of U.S. old-crop corn in the week ended May 15 at 1,190,800 metric tons, down 29% from the previous week but in line with trade expectations for 700,000 to 1,600,000 tons. EXP/CORN

• Weekly old-crop soybean sales totaled 307,900 tons, the USDA said, above trade expectations for 100,000 to 300,000 tons. EXP/SOY

• On the global front, Russia, the world's biggest wheat exporter, has removed a minimum wheat price recommendation for its grain export traders until the end of the export season on July 1, four market sources told Reuters. The initial minimum price recommendation for May and June had been $250 a metric ton, the sources 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