CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soybean barge basis steady-up on good demand, firm freight

CHICAGO, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals were steady to higher on Tuesday on good exporter demand and firmer freight costs, while corn basis bids were narrowly mixed, traders said. Spot barge freight rates were steady to higher on Tuesday as low water on the Mississippi River and ice buildup on the Illinois River slowed navigation. (BG/US) Gulf exporters are actively shipping U.S. soybeans as the harvest in Brazil begins to accelerate. Brazilian soybeans are offered a discount to U.S. soybeans in March and beyond. Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans are broadly expected to slow after Beijing appeared to reach a U.S.-stated target of buying 12 million metric tons from the latest harvest. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said 1,336,684 tons of U.S. soybeans were inspected for export last week, up 35% from the same week a year ago. The loadings included nine vessels of soybeans to China, according to USDA data. Exporters are monitoring tensions between the United States and Europe over U.S. President Trump’s demands to control Greenland. Trump has threatened tariffs on several European countries, igniting concerns of a renewed trade war with a key market for U.S. corn and soybeans. CIF bids for Gulf soybean barges loaded in January were up 3 cents at 102 cents over Chicago Board of Trade March soybean (SH26) futures. February barge bids were up 1 cent at 99 cents over futures. FOB Gulf soybean offers for vessels loaded in February were steady at 118 cents over March futures, while offers for March shipments were steady at 115 cents over futures. CIF Gulf January corn barges were bid 2 cents lower at 86 cents over CBOT March corn (CH26) futures and February corn barges were bid at steady at 91 cents over March futures. FOB export premiums for February corn shipments were 107 cents over March futures and March shipments were offered at 111 cents over March futures, both steady. 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)