MarketsFarm — Spring wheat bids in Western Canada were mostly higher during the week ended Thursday, with gains in U.S. futures countered somewhat by ongoing strength in the Canadian dollar.
Average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS, 13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were down $2 to up $4 per tonne, according to price quotes from a cross-section of delivery points compiled by PDQ (Price and Data Quotes). Average prices ranged from about $232.50 per tonne in western Manitoba to as high as $255.50 per tonne in northern Alberta.
Quoted basis levels varied from location to location and ranged from $24.50 to $47 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.
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When accounting for currency exchange rates by adjusting everything into Canadian dollars, CWRS basis levels ranged from $6 to $20 below the futures.
Bids for CPSR (Canada Prairie Spring Red) wheat were mixed on the week, with most locations posting small gains of 20 cents to as much as $2.50. Prices ranged from $219 to $235.50 per tonne.
Average durum prices were down $2-$4 per tonne, with bids ranging anywhere from $291 to $302 per tonne.
The March spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted Thursday at US$5.67 per bushel, up 4.5 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 March K.C. wheat contract was quoted Thursday at US$5.70 per bushel, up 6.5 U.S. cents compared to the previous week.
The March Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat contract settled at US$6.0875 per bushel on Thursday, up 12.25 U.S. cents on the week.
The Canadian dollar closed Thursday at 78.63 U.S. cents, up a 10th of a cent compared to the previous week.
— Phil Franz-Warkentin reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.
