Cash wheat bids across Western Canada moved lower during the week ended June 10, following the price action seen in U.S. wheat futures.
Average spot bids on Monday for 13.5-per-cent-protein Canada Western red spring (CWRS) wheat across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta came in at around C$273 per tonne ($7.42 per bushel), based on pricing available from a cross-section of delivery points.
That compares with $282 per tonne ($7.68/bu.) at the same point the previous week.
Basis levels were steady to weaker at the elevators, coming in at an average discount of $20.69 per tonne compared to futures prices, from a $18.61 discount the week prior.
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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.
Canada Prairie red spring (CPRS) bids moved lower during the reporting period, with average values at C$221 per tonne ($6.02/bu.), down from the $234 per tonne ($6.39/bu.) level seen the previous week.
U.S. wheat futures eased during the week, with soft demand, and expectations that global supplies will be large in 2013-14, behind much of the downward price action.
The July spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted at US$8.115/bu. on Monday, down 11.5 cents per bushel from the previous week.
July wheat in Kansas City, which is more closely linked to CPRS in Canada, lost 25.5 cents on the week to trade at US$7.26/bu.
Durum prices were steady, with spot bids ranging from C$275 to as high as C$299 per tonne ($7.48-$8.14/bu.), depending on the location. The average price was unchanged from the previous week at C$288 per tonne ($7.85/bu.).
— Terryn Shiells writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.
