CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soybean barge basis firmed in nearby loadings, corn bids eased

CHICAGO, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals firmed on Friday, and corn basis bids eased, on light trade and as barge freight rates continued to stay elevated, traders said. BG/US

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed private export sales of 132,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to China for delivery in the 2025/26 marketing year.

• The USDA also confirmed sales of 104,328 tons of U.S. soybean cake and meal to Mexico, with 93,895 tons for delivery in the 2025/26 marketing year and 10,433 tons for delivery in the 2026/27 marketing year.

• And the USDA confirmed sales of 250,000 tons of corn to unknown destinations for delivery in the 2025/26 marketing year.

• Still, Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures Sv1 fell to six-week lows on Friday as worries about slowing export demand for U.S. supplies and the looming harvest of a large Brazilian crop spurred a round of long liquidation, analysts said.

• Meanwhile, the Trump administration is not expected to finalize 2026 biofuel-blending quotas before the end of this year, according to three sources familiar with the situation, extending uncertainty over a policy closely watched by the rival oil and agricultural sectors.

• CIF bids for soybean barges loaded in December were up 5 cents at 82 cents over Chicago Board of Trade January soybean SF26 futures, while CIF offers for January loadings rose 3 cents to 90 cents over January futures.

• FOB export premiums for soybeans loaded in December were steady at 104 cents over CBOT January soybean futures, while January export premiums were steady at around 105 cents over January futures.

• CIF December corn barges were bid at 74 cents over CBOT March corn CH26 futures, while CIF January corn barge bids were 78 cents over futures - down 4 cents.

• FOB export premiums for December corn shipments were steady at around 105 cents over December CZ25 corn futures. January export premiums were at about 96 cents over March 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