CWRS wheat bids edge higher, other classes soften

CNS Canada –– Wheat cash bids across Western Canada saw some minor adjustments during the week ended Friday, with Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) bids generally showing some improvement while other classes moved lower.

Average CWRS wheat prices were steady to as much as $3 per tonne higher during the week, with bids ranging from $199 per tonne in north-central Saskatchewan to $218 per tonne in Manitoba, according to price quotes from a cross-section of delivery points across Western Canada.

Quoted basis levels varied from location to location, but generally showed some improvement if using the grain company methodology of quoting the basis as the difference between the U.S. dollar denominated futures and the Canadian dollar cash bids.

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When accounting for the currency exchange rates by adjusting the Canadian prices to U.S. dollars (C$1=US79.3 cents as of Feb. 27), CWRS bids ranged from US$158 to $173, which would put the currency adjusted prices relatively unchanged on the week, with basis levels also holding steady at about US$34 to $50 below the futures.

Looking at it the other way around, if the Minneapolis futures are converted to Canadian dollars, CWRS basis levels across Western Canada range from C$43 to $63 below the futures.

Average Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) bids were steady to down by $2 per tonne during the week. CPSR prices came in at about $167 in Manitoba, at about $170-$171 per tonne in Saskatchewan, and $180-$185 in Alberta.

Soft white spring (CWSWS) wheat prices were down by about $9-$10 per tonne, ranging from $175 to $178 per tonne in Alberta. Winter wheat prices were down $2-$6, ranging from $148 to $155 per tonne across Western Canada.

Durum prices, meanwhile, were steady on the week. Prices in southern Saskatchewan, where the bulk of the crop is grown, were unchanged at $321 per tonne.

The May spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted at US$5.565 per bushel Friday, down 10 cents from the previous week.

Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures, traded in Chicago, are more closely linked to CPSR in Canada. The May K.C. wheat contract was quoted Friday at US$5.2225 per bushel, down 17.25 cents from last week.

The May Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat contract settled Friday at US$4.825, 30.5 cents lower compared to the week prior.

The Canadian dollar finished the week at US79.3 cents, down by roughly two-thirds of a cent compared to the previous week.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

Table: The weekly snapshot of average published prices as of March 9, 2015. Futures prices (US$ per tonne) vary slightly due to changes while data is collected. Cash bids (C$ per tonne) have the currency conversion included in the basis. Source: AGCanada.com.

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