CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Corn, soybean barge bids steady to lower on sluggish export news

CHICAGO, May 7 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for soybeans and corn shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals were steady to lower on Thursday, as a poor weekly export sales report and weakness in oil prices weighed on markets, traders said.

• Chicago Board of Trade grain and soybean futures fell on Thursday as hopes of a potential truce between the U.S. and Iran sparked selling from managed commodity funds and speculators that had previously taken long positions on agricultural commodities.

• Strength in the U.S. dollar also weighed on futures, as it makes U.S. commodities less competitive globally, one broker said.

• At the Gulf, CIF soybean barges loaded in May had no bid, but were offered at 90 cents over Chicago Board of Trade July SN26 futures. June loadings were bid at 80 cents over July futures, down 3 cents.

• FOB export premiums for Gulf soybean vessels loaded in June were steady at around 99 cents over July SN26 soybean futures, while loadings for May ticked down 1 cent and were offered at around 107 cents over May SK26 futures.

• For corn, CIF barges loaded in May traded at 80 cents and 81 cents over CBOT July CN26 corn futures, and June-July loadings traded at 86 cents over July futures.

• CIF corn barges loaded in May were bid at 80 cents over CBOT July CN26 corn futures, down 1 cent from Wednesday. June loadings were steady, with bids at 82 cents over July futures.

• FOB export premiums for Gulf corn vessels loaded in June were steady at around 104 cents over July CN26 futures.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday morning reported net export sales of U.S. old-crop corn in the week ended April 30 at 1,361,700 metric tons, on the lower end of trade expectations for 1,000,000 to 1,800,000 tons.

• USDA also reported net export sales of U.S. old-crop soybeans in the week ended April 30 at 141,900 tons, below a range of trade expectations for 200,000 to 500,000 tons.

• Oil prices swung between gains and losses in volatile trading on Thursday, ultimately settling lower. O/R

• The 2025/26 soybean harvest progressed rapidly in Argentina in the past week thanks to mostly dry conditions in agricultural areas, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Thursday, forecasting a production of 48.6 million tons.

• Meanwhile, basis bids for soybeans in cash markets were steady to weaker in the U.S. Midwest on Thursday while the corn basis was mostly flat with a few mixed changes, spot checks showed.

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