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

CHICAGO, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Basis bids for soybeans and corn shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals eased on Tuesday, as export premiums firmed — particularly for soybeans, traders said.

• Empty barge freight values firmed on the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Missouri, along the stretch between the Memphis through Cairo river terminals, and along portions of the lower Ohio River, according to barge sources. BG/US

• While traffic conditions on the lower Mississippi River continue to see some delays due to weather, exporters have been starting to eye pricing options for empty barge availability in the February and March timeframe, one export source said.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday that exporters sold 136,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to China and 231,000 tons to "unknown destinations" — both for delivery in the 2025/2026 marketing year that started September 1.

• CBOT soybean futures fell after a day of choppy trade on signs of China returning to the U.S. market, as Chinese buyers look to finish up last-minute buying before the end of the year, traders said.

• U.S. farmers and grain traders have been closely tracking the pace of Chinese purchases and the shipments of soybeans in the wake of Washington-Beijing trade talks and, according to the White House, a vow by Beijing to buy 12 million tons by the end of the year.

• CIF bids for Gulf soybean barges loaded in last-half January traded at 102 cents over Chicago Board of Trade January soybean SF26 futures. CIF bids for first-half March traded at 89 cents over CBOT March SH26 futures, and March loadings traded at 88 cents over futures.

• Meanwhile, CIF bids for Gulf soybean barges loaded in December were down 2 cents at 97 cents a bushel over CBOT January soybean SF26 futures. CIF bids for January loadings were steady at 102 cents over futures.

• FOB offers for vessels loaded from the Gulf in January held steady at about 110 cents over CBOT January futures, and offers for February shipments were 5 cents higher at around 110 cents over March SH26 futures.

• For corn, CIF Gulf December barges ticked down 2 cents at 80 cents over CBOT March corn CH26 futures, while January bids eased 1 cent to 81 cents over futures.

• FOB export premiums for January corn shipments were up 5 cents at around 102 cents over March futures. Export premiums for deferred-month loadings also firmed, dealers 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