MarketsFarm — Wheat bids in Western Canada were mixed during the week ended Friday, with gains observed in Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat and losses in Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR).
Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD), meanwhile, was steady to lower.
Average CWRS (13.5 per cent) wheat prices were up by $2-$7 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 $237 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to as high as $256 per tonne in northern Alberta.
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Quoted basis levels varied from location to location and ranged from $26 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 Canadian dollar cash bids.
When accounting for currency exchange rates by adjusting Canadian prices to U.S. dollars, CWRS bids ranged from US$171 to US$186 per tonne. That would put the currency-adjusted basis levels at about US$16-$31 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 $12 to $23 below the futures.
Bids for CPSR ranged from $218 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to $236 per tonne in northern Alberta.
Average durum prices were steady to lower by $2, with bids ranging from $280 per tonne in northwestern Saskatchewan to $289 per tonne in western Manitoba.
The December spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts Canada are based, was quoted Thursday at US$5.745 per bushel, up 15.75 U.S. cents from the previous week.
Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures, traded in Chicago, are more closely linked to CPSR in Canada. The December K.C. wheat contract was quoted Thursday at US$5.6025 per bushel, gaining 2.25 U.S. cents compared to the previous week.
The December Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat contract settled at US$6.2275 per bushel on Thursday, up 4.5 cents on the week.
The Canadian dollar closed Thursday at 76.09 U.S. cents, gaining half a cent on the week.
