MarketsFarm — Prairie wheat bids for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat were lower for the week ended Thursday, following losses in U.S. futures.
Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) largely held steady, buoyed by a weaker Canadian dollar, which lost about six-10ths of a cent.
Average CWRS (13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were down $5-$6 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 $217 per tonne in northeastern Saskatchewan to as high as $235 per tonne in southern Alberta.
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Quoted basis levels varied from location to location and ranged from $30 to $48 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$162 to US$176 per tonne. That would put the currency-adjusted basis levels at about US$11-$24 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 $8 to $18 below the futures.
Bids for CPSR wheat ranged from $182 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to $204 per tonne in southern Alberta.
Average durum prices were steady slightly higher, with bids ranging from $263 per tonne in southwestern Saskatchewan to $281 per tonne in western Manitoba.
The May spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted Thursday at US$5.24 per bushel, down 16 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 Thursday at US$4.5175 per bushel, down 29.25 cents compared to the previous week.
The May Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat contract settled Thursday at US$5.275 per bushel, down 31.75 cents on the week.
The Canadian dollar closed Thursday at 74.84 U.S. cents, after losing 0.61 cent on the week.
— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.
