CHICAGO, May 7 (Reuters) - Basis bids for soybeans delivered by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals eased on Wednesday amid weaker Chinese demand, traders said.

• Corn barge bids were also lower.

• Traders said they were not getting overly excited about plans for talks between U.S. and Chinese officials because it looks unlikely the nations will reach a deal soon to resolve their tariff dispute.

• The U.S. announced on Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with China's top economic official on Saturday in Switzerland.

• China is the world's biggest soybean importer.

• Grain trader and soy processor Bunge Global BG.N said rising global trade tensions had prompted consumers to secure goods ahead of tariff-fueled price increases.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture is slated to issue weekly export sales data on Thursday. Analysts expected 2024-25 sales of 700,000 to 1.4 million metric tons for corn and of 200,000 to 500,000 metric tons for soybeans.

• CIF Gulf soybean barges loaded in May were bid at 63 cents over Chicago Board of Trade July SN25 futures, down 1 cent from Tuesday.

• FOB export premiums for soybeans loaded from the Gulf in June were about 79 cents over July soybean futures, also down 1 cent.

• For corn, CIF Gulf barges loaded in May were bid at 66 cents over CBOT July corn CN25 futures, down 3 cents. June corn barges were also bid at 66 cents over July futures, which was down 1 cent.

• FOB export premiums for corn shipped from the Gulf in June remained at about 78 cents over CBOT July corn futures.

(Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)

((Thomas.Polansek@thomsonreuters.com))

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