CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Corn basis bids lower-mixed as barge freight rates rise

CHICAGO, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Basis bids for corn shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals eased on Wednesday on flat spot demand, and deferred months were mixed, as freight rates remained elevated and signs of potential river transportation delays cropped up, traders said.

• There were no basis bids quoted for soybeans shipped by barge to the Gulf in December, but offers ticked lower, market sources said.

• Empty barge freight rates continued to rise along some interior river locations, including Mississippi River at St. Louis, Missouri, on limited barge availability and questions about whether updated draft changes may emerge later this week. BG/US

• Chicago Board of Trade corn futures Cv1 sagged while soybean futures Sv1 rebounded from multi-week lows, buoyed in part by news of fresh U.S. soy export sales.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed private export sales of 467,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans, including 136,000 tons to China and 331,000 tons to unknown destinations, all for delivery in the 2025/26 marketing year.

• The USDA also confirmed sales of 120,000 tons of soybean cake and meal to Poland for delivery in the 2025/26 marketing year.

• Several grain elevators situated on the Mississippi River — such as the Convent, Louisiana, area, and further north — are temporarily down or have shortened their operating hours for regularly scheduled equipment maintenance, dealers said. That, in turn, means barge loadings have slowed in those areas, they said.

• Lower river water levels have created some transportation hiccups, barge sources said. For example, some barges with heavier loads that are navigating on the Mississippi River around the St. Louis area have been restricted from moving during daylight hours, the source said.

• There were no CIF bids for soybean barges loaded in December, while CIF offers were at 78 cents over Chicago Board of Trade January soybean SF26 futures. CIF basis bids for January loadings were at 89 cents over futures.

• CIF soybean barges loaded in January traded at 95 cents over CBOT January soybean SF26 futures.

• FOB export premiums for soybeans loaded in December and January were both up 3 cents at around 104 cents over CBOT January futures.

• CIF December corn barge bids eased 1 cent at 78 cents over CBOT March corn CH26 futures. Deferred contracts were mixed.

• FOB export premiums for December corn shipments were up 1 cent, at around 106 cents over December futures.

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