CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soybean barge basis bids firm, corn bids ease

CHICAGO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals firmed on Friday, and corn basis bids eased, as this week's rally in U.S. soybean futures stretched on, traders said.

• Chicago Board of Trade soybeans Sv1 continued a three-day rally on Friday, fueled by President Donald Trump's remarks on Wednesday that China would buy more U.S. soybeans.

• Brokers said they continued to see a flurry of farmers selling soybeans in the cash market as futures rallied, which has pushed more oilseeds into Midwest marketing channels that feed exporters at the Gulf.

• The soybean cash basis was steady to lower at several Midwest crushing plants, according to spot checks.

• CIF Gulf soybean barges loaded in February were bid at around 109 cents over Chicago Board of Trade March SH26 futures, up 2 cents from Thursday.

• FOB export premiums for soybeans shipped from the Gulf in February were 2 cents lower at around 124 cents over March futures, and March FOB offers were also down 2 cents at 128 cents over futures.

• For corn, February CIF corn barges were bid at 105 cents over CBOT March CH26 corn futures, down 4 cents from Thursday.

• FOB export premiums for corn shipped from the Gulf in February were up 1 cent at around 122 cents over March futures, and March FOB offers were steady at 120 cents over futures.

• Barge freight rates continue to hold at elevated levels due to the weather-related delays. BG/US

• But forecasts for warming temperatures had brokers hoping that weather-related navigation issues along the Illinois River might begin to ease next week.

• Sales by Brazilian farmers of the new soybean crop have lagged previous years, though that will not prevent the world's largest producer and exporter of the oilseed from shipping high volumes through February, according to analysts and shipping data.

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