CHICAGO, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for corn and soybeans were steady to firmer in the U.S. Midwest on Tuesday, reflecting a slow pace of farmer offerings as Chicago Board of Trade futures stayed within recent trading ranges, curbing further sales before the year's end, brokers said.

* The soybean basis firmed by 5 cents a bushel at a crushing operation in Council Bluffs, Iowa, by 3 cents at Seneca, Illinois, on the Illinois River, and by 2 cents at a terminal in Cincinnati, Ohio.

* Soybean crush margins have declined since early November but remain profitable, supporting processor demand for replacement beans.

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that U.S. processors crushed 215.8 million bushels of soybeans in October, a record high for any month that topped a range of trade expectations for 209.5 million to 212 million bushels.

* For corn, the basis improved by a penny a bushel at Seneca, Illinois, and by 2 cents at an ethanol plant in Union City, Indiana.

* Most locations have rolled their corn basis to the CBOT March futures contract CH25 as the CBOT December contract CH25 nears its Dec. 13 expiration.

* On the CBOT as of 11:15 a.m. CST (1715 GMT), January soybean futures SF25 were up 6-3/4 cents at $9.92 per bushel while March corn futures CH25 were down 1/2 cent at $4.32 a bushel. GRA/

Basis values are quoted against CBOT futures in cts/bu:

NOTE: 0 = Option price, UNC = Unchanged, UNQ = Unquoted

NC = Not comparable, DP = Delayed price, N/A = Not available,

F = January, H = March, K = May, N = JulyQ = August, U = September, X = November, Z = December

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LINKS: 0#USCSHGRN-PM

For U.S. forward basis spreadsheets, please click:

CORN/BASIS, SOYA/BASIS, WHEAT/BASIS, MILO/BASIS

- CBOT corn report COR/

- CBOT soybean report SOY/C

- CBOT wheat report WHE/C

- U.S. grain barge freight values BG/US

- U.S. Midwest cash grain PM GRA/PM

- U.S. CIF/FOB Gulf Grain GRA/F

(Reporting by Julie Ingwersen; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

((Julie.ingwersen@thomsonreuters.com; 1-313-484-5283; Reuters Messaging: julie.ingwersen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))