Cash wheat bids across Western Canada moved lower during the week ended Monday, as declines in U.S. wheat futures and attention shifting to relatively favourable new-crop prospects weighed on values.
Average spot bids for 13.5 per cent-protein Canada Western red spring on Monday across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta came in at around C$263 per tonne ($7.17 per bushel) based on pricing available from a cross-section of delivery points. That compares with $273 per tonne ($7.42/bu.) at the same point the previous week.
Basis levels generally widened out as well, coming in at an average discount of about C$24 per tonne compared to futures prices.
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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$215 per tonne ($5.86/bu.). That compares with prices of $221 per tonne ($6.02/bu.) the previous week.
U.S. wheat futures were down during the week, as expectations for a large global wheat crop and ongoing uncertainty in the export market, following the discovery of genetically modified wheat in a U.S. field, weighed on values.
The July spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted at US$8.0025 per bushel on Monday, down 11.25 cents per bushel from the previous week.
July wheat in Kansas City, which is more closely linked to CPRS in Canada, lost 12.25 cents on the week to trade at US$7.13/bu.
Durum prices were lower, with spot bids generally losing $2 or $3 per tonne, depending on the location. The average price came in at C$289 per tonne ($7.86/bu.).
— Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.
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