MarketsFarm — Wheat bids in Western Canada were mostly higher for the week ended Thursday. Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheats improved and Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) was generally firm.
Support came from steady to higher prices in U.S. markets, while a strong Canadian dollar put a lid on further increases.
Average CWRS (13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were up $2-$5 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 $221 per tonne in northeastern Saskatchewan to as high as $239 per tonne in northern and southern Alberta as well as in eastern Manitoba.
Read Also
Alberta crop conditions improve: report
Varied precipitation and warm temperatures were generally beneficial for crop development across Alberta during the week ended July 8, according to the latest provincial crop report released July 11.
Quoted basis levels varied from location to location and ranged from $35 to $53 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$157 to US$170 per tonne. That would put the currency-adjusted basis levels at about US$16-$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 $20 below the futures.
Average CPSR (11.5 per cent protein) prices were up $8.50-$9.50 per tonne. Bids ranged from $204 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to $224 per tonne in southern Alberta.
Average durum prices were steady, with bids ranging from $286 per tonne in western Saskatchewan to $300 per tonne in western Manitoba.
The July spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted Thursday at US$5.1975 per bushel, slipping 0.5 U.S. cent from the previous week.
Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures, traded in Chicago, are more closely linked to CPSR in Canada. The July K.C. wheat contract was quoted Thursday at US$4.9325 per bushel, rising 16.5 U.S. cents compared to the previous week.
The July Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat contract settled at US$5.4475 per bushel on Thursday, gaining 14.25 U.S. cents on the week.
The Canadian dollar closed Thursday at 71.11 U.S. cents, after increasing 0.3 U.S. cent on the week. The rise in the loonie was due to a small recovery in crude oil prices that followed unprecedented losses earlier in the week.
— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.
