CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Corn, soybean barge bids mixed as futures dive

CHICAGO, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for corn and soybeans shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals were mixed on Friday, supported by sharply lower futures values but capped by increased supplies in the export pipeline and steady to weak freight costs, traders said.

* A spike in cash grain prices this week, before Friday's futures market dive, had sparked some farmer sales to barge-loading river elevators, boosting available supplies, traders said.

* Dull export demand also limited basis strength as global buyers are awaiting newly harvested supplies from Brazil, where farmers are expected to reap a record soy crop and the second-largest corn crop on record.

* Net U.S. corn export sales last week totaled 776,992 metric tons, a 14-week low, while soybean sales of just 484,699 tons were the lowest in nearly six months, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data released on Friday. Both were also below trade expectations.

* Spot barge freight rates were unchanged on the Illinois and mid-Mississippi rivers on Friday, but down 25 percentage points of tariff. Traders noted slow navigation on the Illinois due to ice restrictions. BG/US

* CIF soybean barges loaded in January were bid 81 cents over CBOT March soybean SH25 futures, up 2 cents from Thursday.

* FOB export premiums for January soybean shipments were unquoted. February offers were down 3 cents at about 95 cents over March futures.

* CIF January corn barges were down a penny at 66 cents over CBOT March corn CH25 futures.

* FOB offers for corn shipped from the Gulf in January held steady at 86 cents over March futures.

(Reporting by Karl Plume; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)

((karl.plume@thomsonreuters.com; +1 313 484 5285))

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