CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soy basis bids flat amid lack of Chinese demand

CHICAGO, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals were largely flat on Thursday as barge freight remained high and Chinese demand was absent, traders said.

• Weekly U.S. Department of Agriculture data continued to show no U.S. export sales to top-importer China, as Washington and Beijing remained locked in a trade dispute.

• The USDA reported total 2025-26 soybean export sales were 545,000 in the week that ended on July 31, compared to analysts' estimates for 200,000 to 500,000 metric tons.

• China has increasingly turned to South American suppliers, rather than those in the United States.

• New-crop U.S. soybean prices were about $1 per bushel cheaper than Brazil for October and November shipment, an analyst said.

• The Mississippi River, a major waterway for shipping U.S. crops to the Gulf, shut from mile marker 199 to mile marker 201 after a helicopter crashed into a barge near Alton, Illinois, according to the Coast Guard.

• CIF Gulf soybean barges loaded in August were bid at 61 cents over Chicago Board of Trade November soybean futures SX25, which was steady from Wednesday.

• FOB export premiums for soybeans shipped from the Gulf in the first-half of September were about 95 cents over November futures. Loadings for last-half September were 93 cents over November futures.

• For corn, CIF Gulf barges loaded in August were bid at 82 cents over Chicago Board of Trade September CU25 futures, down a penny from Wednesday.

• FOB export premiums for corn shipped from the Gulf in September rose 2 cents to about 120 cents over September futures.

• The USDA reported massive weekly U.S. corn export sales of 3.2 million metric tons for 2025-26, topping analysts' estimates.

• The agency separately confirmed sales of U.S. corn to Mexico and Guatemala via its daily reporting system.

• Traders were monitoring early U.S. harvest results as farmers were expected to produce a record-large crop.

• For soft red winter wheat, CIF Gulf barges loaded in August were bid at 40 cents over CBOT September wheat WU25, down 5 cents.

• The USDA reported weekly U.S. wheat export sales of 737,800 metric tons for 2025-26, above analysts' estimates.

• Leading South Korean animal feed maker Nonghyup Feed Inc purchased about 65,000 metric tons of animal feed wheat expected to be sourced from the United States in an international tender on Thursday, European traders 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