CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Corn barge bids flat to weaker, US export demand slows

CHICAGO, May 29 (Reuters) - Basis bids for corn delivered by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals were mostly flat to down on Thursday as South American suppliers offered cheaper grain on the global market, traders said.

• Brazil is offering corn at values 10 cents below the U.S. Gulf from July through December, two market analysts said. Argentina is offering new-crop corn for export at values that are 20 cents below the U.S., one analyst said.

• Argentina is the world's cheapest supplier and has become aggressive in offering new-crop corn for export, traders added.

• The United States is the largest global corn exporter, followed by Brazil and Argentina.

• Exporters sold 104,000 metric tons of U.S. corn to Mexico and 101,096 tons to unknown destinations, all for delivery by September 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a daily reporting system.

• The USDA is expected to report weekly U.S. corn export sales of 750,000 to 1.4 million tons for 2024-25 and of 25,000-400,000 tons for 2025-26 on Friday, analysts said.

• Weekly U.S. soybean export sales are estimated to be 150,000 to 500,000 tons for 2024-25 and zero to 250,000 tons for 2025-26, they said.

• At the Gulf, CIF corn barges loaded in May traded at 68 cents over Chicago Board of Trade July corn CN25 futures, unchanged from Wednesday's last bid. June corn barges traded at 67 cents over futures, down a penny from Wednesday's bid.

• FOB export premiums for corn shipped from the Gulf in June were flat at about 78 cents over CBOT July corn futures.

• CIF soybean barges loaded in May were bid at 64 cents over CBOT July SN25 soybean futures, and June soy barges were bid around 67 cents over futures. Both were unchanged.

• FOB export premiums for soybeans loaded from the Gulf in June were nominally offered around 78 cents over July futures.

• Exporters remain uncertain about the U.S. trade policy, as a U.S. appeals court reinstated President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs a day after a trade court blocked most of the levies.

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