CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soy basis dips as Chinese demand stays quiet

CHICAGO, March 13 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals slipped on Friday as Chinese demand remained quiet, traders said.

• Traders were waiting for a meeting between U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in France from March 15 to March 16. Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping were set to meet at the end of March.

• U.S. export demand has been seasonally slow as cheaper supplies of newly harvested beans were available from top supplier Brazil.

• Brazilian farmers harvested 57.43% of 2025/26's expected soybean area, consultancy Patria AgroNegocios said.

• Conab pegged Brazil's 2025/26 soybean output at a record 177.85 million metric tons and corn production at 138.27 million tons. Both were down slightly from last month.

• Traders were monitoring the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and assessing the potential for U.S. farmers to switch their planting intentions to soybeans from corn this spring because of spiking fertilizer prices.

• U.S. crop prices have also soared because of the Iran war, triggering a flurry of corn and soybean sales by farmers.

• CIF Gulf soybean barges loaded in March were bid at 65 cents over Chicago Board of Trade May SK26 soybean futures, after trading at 68 cents over futures on Thursday. Barges loaded in April were bid 2 cents lower at around 72 cents over futures.

• CBOT soybean futures weakened after hitting a near two-year high on Thursday on surging crude oil prices, while corn futures firmed as traders squared positions ahead of the weekend.

• CIF Gulf corn barges loaded in March were bid at 77 cents over CBOT May CK26 futures, and April barges were bid at 78 cents over futures. Both were down 1 cent.

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