Cash wheat bids across Western Canada saw some choppiness during the two weeks ended March 4, with spot bids for Canada Western red spring (CWRS) wheat steady to a couple of dollars per tonne lower in most areas, but up a few dollars in others.
Basis levels did generally improve, as cash prices in Western Canada held up better than the declining Minneapolis futures.
Average spot bids for 13.5 per cent CWRS on March 4 across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta came in at around C$277 per tonne ($7.54 per bushel) based on pricing available from a cross-section of delivery points. That compares with C$281 per tonne ($7.65/bu.) at the same point Feb. 19.
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As the harvest in southern Alberta presses on, a broker said that is one of the factors pulling feed prices lower in the region. Darcy Haley, vice-president of Ag Value Brokers in Lethbridge, added that lower cattle numbers in feedlots, plentiful amounts of grass for cattle to graze and a lacklustre export market also weighed on feed prices.
Over the same time, the May spring wheat contract in Minneapolis declined by over 30 cents per bushel, to trade at around US$7.92.
Canada Prairie red spring (CPRS) bids also saw some mixed activity during the reporting period, but average values were a little softer overall, declining by C$5 per tonne (14 cents/bu.) to come in at C$244.
Durum prices held steady in the C$270-$290 per tonne ($7.35-$7.90/bu.) area in Saskatchewan.
— Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.
