CIF/FOB Gulf Grain — Soy barge bids steady — firm as sales to China pick up

CHICAGO, Oct 16 (Reuters) — Basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to the US Gulf Coast were steady to stronger on Friday following a flurry of US soybean sales to China this week, traders said. Meanwhile, farmers have been actively harvesting soybeans and corn in the Midwest, although late-week rains slowed progress in some areas. Farmers generally have been focused on cutting and selling soybeans while storing corn, brokers said this week, a factor that underpinned CIF corn bids at the Gulf. The US Department of Agriculture confirmed sales of 558,000 metric tons of US soybeans to China, bringing the confirmed sales total to China to 1.358 million tons over the past three days. The USDA also announced sales of 236,000 tons of soybeans to undisclosed destinations and 127,000 tons of US corn to Japan. At the Gulf, CIF soybean barges loaded in the first half of October were bid at 85 cents over Chicago Board of Trade November soybean futures, unchanged from Thursday, while last-half October barges were bid at 95 cents over futures, up 1 cent. FOB export premiums for Gulf soybeans loaded in first-half November held steady at around 117 cents over futures. For corn, CIF corn barges l