CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soybean, corn barge basis bids turn higher on firm freight, weather woes

CHICAGO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Basis bids for corn and soybeans shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast export terminals continued to rise on Tuesday, as freight rates turned higher and weather impacts hampered navigation on Midwest rivers, traders said. Spot barge freight rates continued to jump, with rates increasing 50 points on the Illinois River, as snow and ice buildup and low water woes continued to slow barge movement and limit barge loading limits. (BG/US) Barge traffic has slowed or stopped along parts of the interior rivers, particularly on parts of the Illinois River, dealers said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday confirmed private sales of 306,000 metric tons of U.S. sorghum and 110,000 tons of corn to unknown destinations for shipment in the 2025⁄26 marketing year. U.S. soybean futures crept higher on Tuesday as a falling U.S. dollar underpinned prices. The drop in the U.S. dollar index (USD/) , which sank near a four-year low, helped to steady grain prices after a pullback on Monday, making U.S. crops seem cheaper and more appealing to exporters, analysts said. (FRX/) CIF soybean barges loaded in February traded at 110 cents over Chicago Board of Trade March soybean (SH26) futures. Meanwhile, CIF basis bids for soybean barges loaded in January were up 2 cents at 122 cents over March soybean futures. February barge basis bids were up 3 cents at 109 cents over March futures. FOB Gulf soybean offers for vessels loaded in February were up 1 cent at 122 cents over March futures, while offers for March shipments were steady at about 130 cents over futures. CIF Gulf January corn barges basis bids jumped 13 cents to 110 cents over CBOT March (CH26) futures. February barges also turned higher - up 5 cents at 101 cents over March futures. FOB export premiums for February corn shipments were 2 cents higher at 114 cents over March futures, while March offers were steady at 120 cents over futures. 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)