CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Corn barge bids firm on freight costs; soy bids mixed

CHICAGO, July 17 (Reuters) - Basis bids for corn delivered by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals strengthened on Thursday, supported by rising costs for barge freight and a slow pace of farmer grain sales, traders said.

Soybean barge bids were mixed after firming earlier this week.
Empty barges on the Illinois River were offered at 600% of tariff on Thursday, unchanged from a day earlier but up from 575% at midweek. Freight values climbed in recent days on portions of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers as well. BG/US
CIF Gulf corn barges loaded in July were bid at 91 cents over Chicago Board of Trade September CU25 futures and August corn barges were bid at 90 cents over futures, both up a penny from Wednesday.
FOB export premiums for corn shipped from the Gulf in August were steady at around 105 cents over September futures.
For soybeans, CIF barges loaded in July were bid at around 97 cents over CBOT August SQ25 futures, up 1 cent from Wednesday, while August soybean barges were bid at 96 cents over futures, down 2 cents.
FOB export premiums for soybeans shipped from the Gulf in August held steady at around 112 cents over August SQ25 futures.
Weekly export sales data for corn was disappointing. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported net sales of U.S. old-crop corn in the week to July 10 at 97,600 metric tons, well short of trade estimates for at least 500,000 tons. New-crop corn sales of 565,900 tons were within the range of trade estimates. EXP/CORN
The USDA reported net sales of old-crop U.S. soybeans for the week at 271,900 tons, toward the low end of trade expectations for 200,000 to 600,000 tons, but new-crop soybean sales totaled 529,600 tons, topping expectations. EXP/SOY
Net export sales of U.S. wheat for the week reached 494,400 tons, in line with expectations for 300,000 to 700,000 tons. EXP/WHE