CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Corn, soybean basis rises as winter weather slows barge movement

CHICAGO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Basis bids for soybeans and corn shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast export terminals were mostly higher on Friday as low water and harsh winter weather slowed grain movement and impeded navigation on Midwest rivers, traders said.

• Spot barge freight rates firmed by up to 50 points of tariff this week, barge brokers said. Low water on the Mississippi River prompted barge loading limits and tow size restrictions, which propped up the per-bushel cost of hauling grain. Meanwhile, heavy ice buildup on the Illinois River slowed barge movement. BG/US

• Temperatures across much of the country plunged late this week, particularly in the northern Midwest. The bitter cold hampered barge cleaning and loading operations at river elevators. Heavy snow and ice forecast for a wide swath of the U.S. South through the weekend was expected to disrupt navigation.

• Water levels at the busy Port of St. Louis were about 4 feet above a record low and were forecast to remain near the lows through at least the end of the month, according to the National Weather Service.

• An uptick in export sales and loadings at the Gulf lifted demand from grain export terminals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the strongest week of net U.S. corn export sales since October 2024 last week, while soybean sales were the biggest since November 2023, according to USDA data released on Friday.

• CIF basis bids for soybean barges loaded in January were up 1 cent at 109 cents over Chicago Board of Trade March soybean SH26 futures. February barge bids were up 1 cent at 104 cents over futures.

• FOB Gulf soybean offers for vessels loaded in February held at 118 cents over March futures, while offers for March shipments were 115 cents over futures.

• CIF Gulf January corn barges were bid 4 cents higher at 97 cents over CBOT March CH26 futures. February barges were bid 2 cents higher at 96 cents over futures.

• FOB export premiums for February corn shipments were steady at 108 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