CNS Canada –– Average cash bids for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat moved higher, breaking back above $200 per tonne, during the week ended Monday.
Improving basis levels and spillover support from the gains seen in Minneapolis spring wheat futures helped to lift prices.
Average spot bids for CWRS (13.5 per cent protein) across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta came in at around $211 per tonne, or $5.74 per bushel, based on pricing available from a cross-section of delivery points. That compares with $192 per tonne ($5.32/bu.) the previous week. Basis levels were at an average discount of $65 relative to the futures, from $69 last week.
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The July spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted at US$7.535/bu. on Monday, up 34 cents from the week prior.
No elevators were reporting spot bids for Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat, with prices only being offered for new crop in August 2014 or later. Last week, the average price was around $170 per tonne ($4.62/bu.), with an average basis of about $100 below the futures.
Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures, now traded in Chicago, are more closely linked to CPSR in Canada. The July Kansas City wheat contract gained 44.75 cents during the week, settling Monday at US$7.865/bu.
Continued concerns about drought in the U.S. Plains damaging winter wheat crops, uncertainty surrounding the political situation in Ukraine, and worries about delayed spring wheat seeding in the U.S. were also bullish for U.S. futures.
Average durum prices were firmer, with the average price on Monday coming in at $190 per tonne ($5.19/bu.), up from $183 per tonne ($4.97/bu.) last week. Expectations of lower acreage of durum in Canada this spring provided some support, though the U.S. is expected to seed more of the crop.
— Terryn Shiells writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.
