CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soybean barge basis steady-weak as futures rally

CHICAGO, Sept. 10 (Reuters) - Basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to the U.S. Gulf Coast were mostly steady to slightly lower on Thursday after spiking a day earlier on strong demand from China and as futures prices rallied to fresh multi-year highs, traders said.

• CIF corn basis bids were mostly steady to firm.
• Low water in the Mississippi River has curtailed shipping and elevated barge freight costs, which kept a firm floor under CIF basis values. The Mississippi River at the busy port of St. Louis was around 5 feet from an all-time low on Thursday, according to federal data. BG/US
• Chinese demand for newly harvested U.S. soybeans remained strong, with traders estimating the week's purchases at around 1 million metric tons.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed more private soybean sales to China on Thursday, which traders said was for shipment in December and January.
• CIF soy barges loaded in September were bid at 101 cents over CBOT November SX26 futures, down a penny from Wednesday. October barges were bid at 107 cents over futures, also down 1 cent.
• FOB export premiums for Gulf soybean shipments in October held steady at around 127 cents over CBOT November futures.
• CIF corn barges loaded in September were bid at 67 cents over CBOT December CZ26 futures, up a penny from midweek.
• FOB export premiums for Gulf corn vessels loaded in the first half of October were steady at around 105 cents over CBOT December futures.
• Ahead of Friday's monthly USDA supply/demand reports, analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expected the government to trim its estimates of U.S. corn and soybean yields as well as its forecasts of corn and soy inventories remaining at the end of the 2026/27 marketing year.

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