CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Corn barge bids steady to weaker; USDA data awaited

• At the Gulf, CIF corn barges loaded in September were bid at 66 cents over CBOT December CZ26 futures and offered at 70 cents over futures, down 5 cents from Tuesday's offers.
• October corn barges traded at 86 cents over futures for a second straight day.
• FOB export premiums for Gulf corn vessels loaded in the first half of October were steady at around 105 cents over CBOT December futures.
• For soybeans, CIF soy barges loaded in September were bid at 102 cents over CBOT November SX26 futures, up 5 cents from Tuesday, while October barges were bid at 108 cents over futures, down 2 cents.
• FOB export premiums for Gulf soybean shipments in October held steady at around 127 cents over CBOT November futures.

CHICAGO, Sept. 9 (Reuters) - Basis bids for corn shipped by barge to the U.S. Gulf Coast were steady to weaker on Wednesday while soybean bids were mixed as early harvest activity steered fresh grain supplies into marketing channels that feed the Gulf, traders said.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the corn harvest was 5% complete nationally as of Sunday, ahead of the five-year average of 3%.
• The USDA did not release a national harvest number for soybeans but its state data showed that soybean harvesting was 27% complete in Arkansas and 35% complete in Mississippi.
• Basis pressure from harvest activity was offset by support from fresh export demand. Under its daily reporting rules, the USDA confirmed private sales of 340,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to China and another 100,000 tons to undisclosed destinations.
• The USDA also confirmed sales of 182,880 tons of U.S. corn to Mexico.