Soy, corn barge bids hold steady at week's end

Basis bids for soybeans and corn shipped by barge to the U.S. Gulf Coast held steady on Friday in quiet trade, underpinned by dwindling supplies of old-crop grain moving into marketing channels as the fall harvest approaches, traders said.

* CIF soybean barges loaded in September were bid at 165 cents over Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) November (SX2) futures, steady with Thursday's last bid.

* Basis bids and offers for August barges continued to fluctuate widely, given tight supplies of old-crop soybeans. August barges were bid at 225 cents over futures, down 25 cents from Thursday, while offers were far apart at 315 cents over futures.

* FOB export premiums for first-half October soybean loadings, the first available delivery period, were steady at around 190 cents over November (SX2) futures. Last-half October premiums were offered at around 170 cents over futures.

* For corn, CIF barges loaded in August were bid around 110 cents over CBOT September corn (CU2) futures and September-loaded barges around 100 cents over futures, both unchanged from Thursday. October and November corn barges traded at 97 cents over December (CZ2) futures.

* FOB corn export premiums for September loadings at the Gulf were nominally offered at around 140 cents over September (CU2) futures and October premiums were around 147 cents over December (CZ2) futures, steady with Thursday.

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in monthly supply/demand reports raised its estimates of U.S. 2022 soybean production and yield, defying most analysts' expectations for a reduction. The government lowered its estimates of 2022 U.S. corn production and yield, roughly in line with trade expectations.

* On the global front, the USDA raised its forecast of 2022/23 world wheat production to a record 779.60 million tonnes, and increased its estimate of Russia's crop to 88 million tonnes, from 81.5 million previously. Russia is the world's biggest wheat exporter. (WASDE13)

* The USDA cut its estimate of corn production in the European Union to 60 million tonnes, from 68 million last month, citing "extreme heat and dryness." (WASDE17)