MarketsFarm — Wheat bids in Western Canada were broadly lower during the week ended Thursday, with double-digit losses observed in Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheats.
Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) had moderate declines.
Average CWRS (13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were down $7-$11 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 $218 per tonne in northeastern Saskatchewan to as high as $239 per tonne in northern Alberta.
Quoted basis levels varied from location to location and ranged from $29 to $49 per tonne above the futures when using the grain company methodology of quoting the basis as the difference between the U.S. dollar denominated futures and the Canadian dollar cash bids.
When accounting for currency exchange rates by adjusting Canadian prices to U.S. dollars, CWRS bids ranged from US$163 to US$178 per tonne. That would put the currency-adjusted basis levels at about US$11-$26 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 $8 to $20 below the futures.
Bids for CPSR ranged from $198 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to $213 per tonne in northern Alberta.
Average durum prices were lower by $1-$6.50, with bids ranging from $278 per tonne in southwestern Saskatchewan to $289 per tonne in western Manitoba.
The September spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts Canada are based, was quoted Thursday at US$5.10 per bushel, down 5.25 cents from the previous week.
Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures, traded in Chicago, are more closely linked to CPSR in Canada. The September K.C. wheat contract was quoted Thursday at US$4.4125 per bushel, losing 7.5 cents compared to the previous week.
The September Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat contract settled at US$5.295 per bushel on Thursday, down by 5.75 cents on the week.
The Canadian dollar closed Thursday at 74.67 U.S. cents, gaining about four-fifths of a cent on the week.
The U.S. dollar index has been lower in comparison to many major world currencies, due in part to concerns of spiking COVID-19 cases in the U.S., causing lockdown restrictions to be reinstated.
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