Corn, soy barge bids decline on farmer grain sales

Basis bids for corn and soybeans shipped by barge to the U.S. Gulf Coast declined on Friday as Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn (CN24) and soybean (SN24) futures jumped, spurring a flurry of farmer grain sales that should help replenish supply pipelines.

* Corn futures rose nearly 3% after the U.S. government projected a smaller-than-expected increase in U.S. corn inventories for 2024/25, while soaring soyoil futures (BON24) lifted soybeans.

* CBOT wheat futures (WN24) rose the most, climbing about 4% on worries about diminishing crop prospects in top global wheat supplier Russia due to drought and damaging cold.

* CIF Gulf corn barges loaded in May were bid at 40 cents over CBOT July (CN24) futures, down 2 cents from Thursday, and June barges were bid at 42 cents over futures, also down 2 cents. Barges loaded in the last half of May traded at 40 cents over futures.

* Export premiums for corn loadings in May and June were around 49 cents a bushel over CBOT July futures, unchanged from Thursday.

* For soybeans, CIF Gulf barges loaded in May were offered at 48 cents over CBOT July (SN24) futures, down 2 cents from Thursday's offer, while bids were unquoted. June soy barges traded at 46 cents over July futures and August barges traded at 57 cents over August (SQ24) futures.

* FOB Gulf basis offers for soybeans loaded in June were around 56 cents over CBOT July (SN24) futures, down 2 cents from Thursday.

* In its first official forecasts for the 2024/24 marketing year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday projected that U.S. corn stocks would rise to 2.102 billion bushels, a six-year high, up from 2.022 billion for 2023/24. However, the figure fell below an average of analyst expectations for 2.284 billion.

* The USDA projected 2024/25 U.S. soybean ending stocks at 445 million bushels, a five-year high that topped analysts' estimates for 431 million.

* The USDA projected 2024/25 U.S. corn exports at 2.2 billion bushels, up from 2.150 billion in 2023/24, and soybean exports at 1.824 billion bushels, up from 1.7 billion in 2023/24. The government projected 2024/25 wheat exports at 775 million bushels, up from 720 million, a 52-year low, in 2023/24.