MarketsFarm — Wheat bids in Western Canada were mostly higher during the week ended Friday, with a mostly firmer tone in U.S. futures countered by strength in the Canadian dollar.
Average CWRS (Canada Western Red Spring, 13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were up by as much as $5 per tonne, although Manitoba bids edged lower, according to price quotes from a cross-section of delivery points compiled by PDQ (Price and Data Quotes).
Average prices ranged from about $222 per tonne in western Manitoba to as high as $241 per tonne in northern Alberta.
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$167 to US$182 per tonne. That would put the currency-adjusted basis levels at about US$14-$29 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 $11 to $22 below the futures.
Bids for CPSR (Canada Prairie Spring Red) wheat ranged from $210 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to $227 per tonne in southern Alberta.
Average durum prices were higher by $2-$6, with bids ranging from $274 per tonne in northwestern Saskatchewan to $280 per tonne in western Manitoba.
The December spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted Thursday at US$5.355 per bushel, down 1.25 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$5.065 per bushel, gaining 23.5 cents U.S. compared to the previous week.
The December Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat contract settled Thursday at US$5.7025 per bushel, up by 20.5 cents on the week.
The Canadian dollar closed Thursday at 75.23 U.S. cents, gaining about half of a cent on the week.
