CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soybean barge basis steady-higher on firm demand, lower futures

CHICAGO, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals were unchanged to higher on Friday, underpinned by steady demand from China and weakening futures prices, traders said.

• CIF corn basis bids were steady to firm.

• Chinese state-owned importers have been booking regular purchases in recent days for shipment in early 2026, while private importers continued to book Brazilian supplies due to lower prices, traders said.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday confirmed private sales of 134,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to China for 2025/26 marketing year shipment, the latest in a string of daily sales announcements to the top soy importer.

• The USDA updated its release schedule for a backlog of weekly export sales reports on Friday. Its next report, for the week ending December 4, is due out on Monday.

• CIF bids for soybean barges loaded in December were up 7 cents at 92 cents over Chicago Board of Trade January soybean SF26 futures, while CIF bids for January loadings were flat at 94 cents over futures.

• FOB export premiums for soybeans were steady, with offers for vessels loaded in January at 110 cents over January futures and offers for February shipments at 105 cents over March SH26 futures.

• CIF December corn barges were bid a penny higher at 74 cents over CBOT March corn CH26 futures, while January bids were up 1 cent at 82 cents over futures.

• FOB export premiums for January corn shipments were flat at about 97 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