CNS Canada — Average cash bids for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) were firmer, while Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat bids were holding steady during the two weeks ended Monday.
Average spot bids for CWRS (13.5 per cent protein) across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta came in at around C$197 per tonne ($5.36 per bushel). That compares with $192 per tonne ($5.24/bu.) on Aug. 11. Changes in basis levels varied by location, but improved overall to $32 per tonne below the futures, from $34 earlier in the month.
Average CPSR bids came in at $143 per tonne ($3.91/bu.), which compares with average bids of $144 per tonne ($3.92/bu.) on Aug. 11. Average basis levels for CPSR in Western Canada were unchanged at $85 below the futures.
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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.
The September spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted at US$6.17/bu. on Monday, up three-quarters of a cent from Aug. 11.
Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures, now traded in Chicago, are more closely linked to CPSR in Canada. The September Kansas City wheat contract lost one cent during the two weeks, and was quoted Monday at US$6.2275/bu.
U.S. futures have moved up and down over the past two weeks, with some support coming from worries about quality problems in parts of Europe, as well as a slower than normal U.S. spring wheat harvest.
Concerns about problems in Ukraine and Russia were supportive at times, though grain exports out of the region have not been disrupted as of yet. Global wheat production is still expected to be very large, which continued to overhang the markets.
Durum prices were holding steady, with the average price unchanged at $268 per tonne ($7.28/bu.). Concerns about quality problems in Europe remained supportive overall.
— Terryn Shiells writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.
