CNS Canada — Average cash bids for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) moved lower during the week ended June 30, with CWRS bids falling below the $5 a bushel mark.
Losses seen in U.S. wheat futures after a bearish U.S. Department of Agriculture report on Monday were responsible for most of the weakness in the Canadian cash market.
Average spot bids on Monday for CWRS (13.5 per cent protein) across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta came in at around $180 per tonne ($4.90 per bushel) based on pricing available from a cross-section of delivery points. That compares with $184 per tonne ($5.01/bu.) the previous week. Basis levels were unchanged from a week ago at an average discount of $68 relative to the futures.
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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.
Average CPSR bids came in at $135 per tonne ($3.68/bu.), which compares with average bids the previous week of $140 per tonne ($3.81/bu.). Average basis levels held steady for CPRS at $122 per tonne below the futures.
The September spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted at US$6.77/bu. on Monday, down 14 cents from the previous week.
Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures, which are now traded in Chicago, are more closely linked to CPSR in Canada. The September Kansas City wheat contract decreased by 12.5 cents during the week, and was quoted Monday at US$7.0025 per bushel.
Both Minneapolis and Kansas City futures moved lower due to USDA’s bearish acreage report on Monday, which showed total U.S. wheat acreage at a higher than expected 56.5 million acres.
Durum prices were unchanged from the week prior, with average values at $224 per tonne ($6.10/bu.).
— Terryn Shiells writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.
