MarketsFarm — Wheat bids in Western Canada were mixed for the week ended Thursday. Small gains and marginal losses were observed in CWRS, CPSR and durum wheats.
Average CWRS (Canada Western Red Spring, 13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were down $3-$5 per tonne at most locations. The outlier was in northwestern Saskatchewan, where prices were up about $5 according to price quotes from a cross-section of delivery points compiled by PDQ (Price and Data Quotes).
Average CWRS prices ranged from about $203 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to as high as C$221 per tonne in southern Alberta.
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Quoted basis levels varied from location to location and ranged from $19 to $37 per tonne above the futures when using the grain company methodology of quoting the basis as the difference between U.S. dollar-denominated futures and Canadian dollar cash bids.
When accounting for currency exchange rates by adjusting Canadian prices to U.S. dollars, CWRS bids ranged from US$153 to US$166 per tonne. That would put the currency-adjusted basis levels at about US$17-$31 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 $23 to $42 below the futures.
Wheat bids for CPSR (Canada Prairie Spring Red) were up $2-$5 per tonne. Prices ranged from $172 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to $232 per tonne in southern Alberta.
Average durum prices were steady to lower, with bids ranging from $232 per tonne in southwestern Saskatchewan to $240 per tonne in southern Alberta.
The December spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts Canada are based, was quoted Thursday at US$5.015 per bushel, down 12 U.S. cents from the previous week.
Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures, traded in Chicago, are more closely linked to CPSR in Canada. The December K.C. wheat contract was quoted Thursday at US$4.015 per bushel, down 2.75 U.S. cents from the previous week.
The December Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat contract settled at US$4.7275 per bushel on Thursday, down a cent on the week.
The Canadian dollar closed Thursday at 75.21 U.S. cents on August 22, down 0.02 of a U.S. cent from the previous week.
— Marlo Glass writes for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.
