Basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals edged higher on Friday, traders said, as freight costs continued to tick higher at some Midwest river locations.

Traders monitored falling water levels on the Mississippi River, which could complicate barge movement as farmers are expected to harvest large crops in the coming weeks.

Exporters sold 123,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to unknown destinations and another 204,650 metric tons of soybeans to unknown destinations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said via its daily reporting system.

However, top soy importer China has continued to shun U.S. supplies in favor of South American soy, anchoring FOB soybean offers, traders said.

CIF Gulf soybean barges loaded in September were bid at around 54 cents over Chicago Board of Trade November (SX25) futures, up 2 cents from Thursday.

FOB export premiums for soybeans shipped from the Gulf in October were flat at about 77 cents over November futures, after falling by 5 cents on Thursday.

For corn, CIF September barges were bid at 71 cents over CBOT December (CZ25) corn futures, down a penny from Thurday.

FOB export premiums for corn shipped from the Gulf in October rose 1 cent to around 101 cents over December futures.

The USDA reported export sales of new-crop U.S. corn were 2.1 million metric tons for the week ended August 28, at the high end of analysts’ expectations.

The agency is slated to issue a monthly update on global crop supplies and demand next week.

S&P Global Commodity Insights estimated the average U.S. 2025 corn yield at 189.1 bushels per acre and the soybean yield at 53.8 bpa.
Source: Reuters