CNS Canada — Cash spring wheat bids across Western Canada were narrowly mixed during the week ended Friday, with prices up slightly in some locations and down in others. Spillover from gains in U.S. futures was offset by the bearish influence of the rising Canadian dollar.
Depending on the location, average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat prices were up by $2 to down by $2 per tonne over the course of the week, according to price quotes from a cross-section of delivery points across the Prairie provinces compiled by PDQ (Price and Data Quotes). Average prices ranged from about $224 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to as high as $238 in northern Alberta.
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Quoted basis levels varied from location to location, ranging from $31 to $45 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 the Canadian dollar cash bids.
When accounting for currency exchange rates by adjusting Canadian prices to U.S. dollars, CWRS bids ranged from US$177 to $188 per tonne, down by US$2-$5 compared to the previous week. That would put currency-adjusted basis levels at about US$5-$16 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 $6 to $20 below the futures.
Average Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) bids were also narrowly mixed on the week. Average CPSR prices came in at about $183-$206 per tonne in Saskatchewan, and $196-$211 per tonne in Alberta.
Average durum prices were down by $2-$3 per tonne during the week, with bids in Saskatchewan ranging from roughly $278-$281 per tonne.
The July spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted Friday at US$5.3325 per bushel, up US5.25 cents from the previous week.
Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures, traded in Chicago, are more closely linked to CPSR in Canada. The July K.C. wheat contract was quoted Friday at US$4.735 per bushel, up US5.25 cents compared to the previous week.
The July Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat contract settled Friday at US$4.74, up by US6.5 cents on the week.
The Canadian dollar closed at US78.92 cents on Friday, up by a penny relative to its U.S. counterpart compared to the previous week.
— Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.
