CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soy barge basis steady-firm as futures dip, corn bids flat-lower

CHICAGO, April 2 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals were mostly steady to firm on Thursday as futures eased, although basis gains were limited by seasonally slow export demand, traders said.

• CIF corn basis bids were steady to lower, with nearby values easing at the close of the trading week after rising to a one-month high a day earlier.

• Corn export demand remained solid as importers relied on U.S. supplies ahead of the upcoming Brazilian second-crop harvest. Soybean sales, however, continued to erode amid stiff competition from cheaper Brazilian shipments.

• Net old-crop U.S. corn export sales dipped to 1.15 million metric tons in the week ended March 26, down 5.6% from a week earlier, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data released on Thursday. Net old-crop soybean sales fell to 353,300 tons, down 47%.

• Chicago Board of Trade corn Cv1 and soybeans Sv1 eased on Thursday as traders squared positions ahead of the long Easter holiday weekend.

• Markets will be closed on Friday for the Good Friday holiday.

• CIF Gulf soybean barges loaded in March were bid a penny higher at 71 cents over CBOT May SK26 soybean futures. April barge bids were also 1 cent higher at 73 cents over futures.

• FOB export premiums for April soybean vessels held steady at around 92 cents over futures.

• CIF Gulf corn barges loaded in March were bid 2 cents lower at 86 cents over CBOT May CK26 futures. April barge bids were down 2 cents at 85 cents over futures.

• FOB corn offers for vessels loaded in April rose to 98 cents over futures, up 2 cents.

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