CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soybean barge basis steady to higher on firm demand, freight costs

CHICAGO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals in December were steady to firm on Tuesday on moderate exporter demand and rising freight costs, while corn basis bids were mostly steady to weak, traders said.

• Demand from Chinese importers for U.S. soybeans was generally light on Tuesday after active sales last week and talk of light buying interest on Monday, traders said. The bulk of the purchases have been for shipments through February, after which cheaper Brazilian supplies were available.

• China's state stockpiler Sinograin on Tuesday sold about 323,000 metric tons of imported soybeans, or 62.9% of the total offered, according to two traders, and announced its third auction of the month as it prepares for U.S. imports.

• Barge freight costs have edged higher this week amid concerns that low water on the Mississippi River would disrupt shipping, traders said. Barge lines are already limiting drafts in some areas. BG/US

• The Mississippi River gauge at Memphis, a key choke point on the busiest shipping waterway, was at -7.6 feet on Tuesday afternoon, about 4.5 feet above the low-water record hit two years ago, according to the National Weather Service.

• CIF bids for soybean barges loaded in December were 3 cents higher at 76 cents over Chicago Board of Trade January soybean SF26 futures, while CIF bids for January loadings were up a penny at 91 cents over futures.

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

• CIF December corn barges were bid 3 cents lower at 70 cents over CBOT March corn CH26 futures, while January bids were steady at 78 cents over futures.

• FOB export premiums for December and January corn shipments were steady 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