CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soybean basis steady to firm on good demand, corn bids flat

CHICAGO, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals were steady to higher on Wednesday, supported by firm exporter demand after a pickup in sales to top importer China this week, traders said.

• Chinese importers inquired about prices for U.S. soybean shipments in late winter and early spring after active sales earlier this week for March-to-May delivery, traders said. They could not immediately confirm that any new sales occurred on Wednesday.

• CIF corn basis bids were mostly steady as export demand remained firm but the market was well supplied. Grain movement has been strong, as is typical at the start of the new tax year, traders said.

• Barge freight rates were steady to higher on good demand and as low water slowed navigation on parts of the lower Mississippi River. The Illinois River remains open as recent mild temperatures kept ice buildup minimal. BG/US

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture is due to release export sales data for the week ended January 1 early on Thursday.

• CIF bids for Gulf soybean barges loaded in January were bid 2 cents higher at 90 cents over CBOT March soybean SH26 futures. February barges were bid 2 cents higher at 92 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 steady at 83 cents over CBOT March corn CH26 futures, while February bids held steady at 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