CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soybean barge basis firm on river shipping woes

CHICAGO, April 9 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for soybeans delivered by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals firmed for a second day on Wednesday as tight supplies in the river market and slow barge movement further lifted values from early-week lows, traders said.

* CIF corn basis bids were mostly steady to lower in a slight pullback after recent gains. The market, however, remains firmly supported by slow farmer selling and river shipping woes.

* Recent heavy rain in the southern U.S. Midwest has raised water levels on the lower Ohio River and essentially halted all grain movement along the key shipping waterway, brokers said. Sections of the river are expected to stay closed to commercial traffic for the next 10 days, they said.

* Spot freight rates were steady on the Illinois River on Wednesday and down 10 points on the Mississippi River at St. Louis. Rates were unquoted on the lower Ohio River amid high water issues. BG/US

* Export demand was quiet as traders assessed the latest tariff news. U.S. President Donald Trump temporarily lowered new duties on imports from many countries on Wednesday, but sharply increased levies on Chinese imports.

* Chicago Board of Trade futures rallied following the tariff announcement. Trader focus is turning to Thursday's monthly U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) supply and demand report.

* The USDA is also due to release weekly export sales data on Thursday morning.

* CIF Gulf soybean barges loaded in April were bid 4 cents higher at 74 cents over Chicago Board of Trade May SK25 futures.

* Export premiums for soybeans loaded in April were unchanged at 93 cents over May futures.

* CIF Gulf corn barges loaded in April were bid 2 cents lower at about 76 cents over CBOT May CK25 futures.

* FOB export premiums for corn shipped in April were flat at 86 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