Sept 16 (Reuters) -Basis bids for corn and soybeans shipped by barge to the U.S. Gulf Coast were mostly steady to higher on Monday on elevated shipping costs and low Mississippi River water levels that have impeded shipments, traders said.

* Rains from Hurricane Francine last week have increased river levels on the lower Mississippi River only slightly, and barge lines continue to impose restriction on drafts and tow sizes. Those limits have elevated barge shipping costs and made exports costlier.

* The Mississippi River at Memphis is forecast to fall to within about 3 feet of its all-time low by the end of this month, according to National Water Prediction Service data.

* CIF corn barges loaded in September were bid 3 cents higher at 72 cents over Chicago Board of Trade December CZ24 futures. October barge bids were up 2 cents at 80 cents over futures.

* Tight near-term export loading capacity following recent rain delays and the hurricane kept nearby FOB offers well supported. Some exporters were not even posting any October or early November offers.

* FOB Gulf export premiums for corn shipped in November, the earliest loading slot, were unchanged at 110 cents over CBOT December futures.

* CIF September soy barges were bid steady at 68 cents over CBOT November soybean SX24 futures while October barge bids held at around 74 cents over futures.

* FOB soy export premiums for the first half of November were around 130 cents over futures, while last-half November offers were 118 cents over futures, both up from late last week.

Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri

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