CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soybean, corn barge bids strengthen

CHICAGO, July 14 (Reuters) - Basis bids for soybeans and corn delivered by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals firmed on Monday, supported by exporter demand, thin farmer sales and a rise last week in barge freight costs.

• CIF Gulf soybean barges loaded in July were bid at 93 cents over CBOT August SQ25 futures, up 4 cents from Friday, and August soy barges were also bid at 93 cents over futures, up 3 cents.

• FOB export premiums for soybeans shipped from the Gulf in August were up a nickel from Friday, offered at around 100 cents over August SQ25 futures.

• For corn, CIF barges loaded in July were bid at 88 cents over CBOT September CU25 futures, unchanged from Friday, while August corn barges were bid at 87 cents over futures, up a penny.

• FOB export premiums for corn shipped from the Gulf in August were quoted around 105 cents over September futures, up 5 cents from Friday.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported export inspections of U.S. corn in the latest week at 1,287,159 metric tons, toward the low end of trade expectations for 1,200,000 to 1,500,000 tons.

• Weekly soybean export inspections totaled 147,045 tons, below trade expectations for 200,000 to 500,000 tons, while wheat inspections totaled 439,533 tons, at the high end of expectations for 300,000 to 500,000 tons. USDA/I

• After CBOT markets closed, the USDA rated 70% of the U.S. soybean crop in good to excellent condition, up from 66% from the prior week and the strongest mid-July rating since 2016.

• Weekly U.S. corn crop conditions held steady at 74% good to excellent, in line with trade estimates.

• China's soybean imports hit the highest level ever for the month of June, a Reuters calculation of customs data showed, driven by a surge in shipments from top supplier Brazil.

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