CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soybean export basis steady to firm as China buys

CHICAGO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals were steady to firm on Tuesday, underpinned by good export demand and elevated near-term freight costs, traders said.

• China's Sinograin booked about 10 U.S. soybean cargoes to start the week as Beijing got closer to meeting its commitment to buy 12 million metric tons by the end of next month. The latest purchases were for shipment from March to May, which is the peak export shipping season for rival supplier Brazil.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed 336,000 metric tons of soybeans sold to China in a daily sales announcement on Tuesday.

• Chinese buyers inquired about prices again on Tuesday morning. Traders said a small number of cargoes were booked but could not confirm traded volumes.

• Barge freight rates remained well supported by good demand and low water on the lower Mississippi River. Barge lines are already limiting drafts in some low-water areas for safety, raising the per-bushel cost of moving grain. BG/US

• CIF bids for Gulf soybean barges loaded in January were bid at 88 cents over CBOT March soybean SH26 futures, compared with bids on Monday of 100 cents over January SF26 futures. February barges were bid 2 cents higher at 90 cents over March futures.

• Tight loading capacity at Gulf Coast terminals supported FOB export premiums. Many exporters are not quoting January loadings due to a lack of capacity, traders said.

• FOB offers for vessels loaded from the Gulf in February were steady at about 110 cents over March futures, and offers for March shipments were steady at around 102 cents over futures.

• CIF Gulf January corn barges were bid 2 cents higher at 83 cents over CBOT March corn CH26 futures, while February bids firmed 3 cents to 86 cents over futures.

• FOB export premiums for February corn shipments were steady at around 110 cents over March futures, 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