The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed private sales of 111,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to China for shipment in the 2026/27 marketing year that began on September 1.
China's state stockpiler, Sinograin, has resumed large-scale auctions of imported soybeans after a pause of roughly a month, ahead of an expected summit of US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington next week.
China has now crossed the halfway point toward its commitment, agreed with Washington last October, to buy 25 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans.
The International Grains Council said on Thursday it had trimmed its forecast for 2026/27 global corn production with crop outlooks reduced for the United States, the European Union and India.
French maize crop conditions worsened last week to hit another record low, data from farm office FranceAgriMer showed on Friday, as hot, dry weather persisted in the European Union's biggest grain producer.
Ukraine's agriculture ministry has agreed with a proposal from farming groups to prioritize transport capacity for higher-value goods when export routes are constrained, Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi said on Friday. Vysotskyi did not say when the measure could take effect, noting that a mechanism still needs to be developed.
Freight values for empty barges remain elevated, with shippers checking on prices for bookings into December and the forecasts of additional rainfall across parts of the central U.S. expected to add to rising interior river levels, barge sources said. BG/US
CIF soybean barges loaded in September were bid at 79 cents over CBOT November soybean SX26 futures, while barges loaded in October were steady at 95 cents over November futures.
FOB export premiums for Gulf soybean shipments in October were steady, offered at around 124 cents over November futures, while November shipments were offered at 127 cents over futures.
Bids for CIF corn barges loaded in September were bid at 74 cents over CBOT December corn CZ26 futures, while October barge bids were steady at 83 cents over December futures.
FOB export premiums for Gulf corn vessels loaded in the first half of October were also steady, offered at around 106 cents over December futures, while latter-half October were offered at 109 cents over December futures.
Barge bids steady ahead of summit
Basis bids for soybeans and corn shipped by barge to the U.S. Gulf Coast were generally steady on Friday, amid news of a flash sale of U.S. soybeans sold to China and traders looking ahead to next week's Washington-Beijing summit, traders said.
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