MarketsFarm — Wheat bids in Western Canada were mixed for the week ended Thursday.
Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheats saw losses, while Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) saw gains.
The Canadian dollar was higher for most of the past week, topping off at 75.55 U.S. cents on Tuesday, but the loonie fell to 75.02 by Thursday.
Average CWRS (13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were down $8-$12 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 $219 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to as high as $236 per tonne in northern and southern Alberta.
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Quoted basis levels varied from location to location and ranged from $23 to $40 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$164 to US$177 per tonne. That would put the currency-adjusted basis levels at about US$19-$32 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 $25 to $42 below the futures.
Wheat bids for CPSR were down $1-$5 per tonne. Prices ranged from $180 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to $198 per tonne in southern Alberta.
Average durum prices were up $9-$18, with bids ranging from $268 per tonne in western 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$5.3375 per bushel, down 15.5 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$4.0575 per bushel, down 2.5 cents from the previous week.
The December Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soft wheat contract settled at US$4.8875 per bushel on Thursday, up 4.5 cents on the week.
The Canadian dollar closed Thursday at 75.02 U.S. cents, down 0.39 of a cent from the previous week.
— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.
