CNS Canada — Wheat bids in Western Canada were mixed for the week ended Thursday, while U.S. wheat futures rose.
Depending on the location, average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS, 13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were mixed in Western Canada with some unchanged and others rising by $1-$2, according to price quotes from a cross-section of delivery points compiled by PDQ (Price and Data Quotes).
However, in eastern Manitoba prices dropped by $1, to $244 per tonne. Average prices ranged from about $236 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to as high as $251 in northern Alberta.
Read Also
U.S. grains: Wheat futures rise on supply snags in top-exporter Russia
U.S. wheat futures closed higher on Thursday on concerns over the limited availability of supplies for export in Russia, analysts said.
Quoted basis levels varied from location to location, but rose to range from $12 to $27 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$189 to US$203 per tonne, which was up on a U.S. dollar basis on the week. That would put the currency-adjusted basis levels at about US$21-$35 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 $29 to $47 below the futures.
Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat bids were up by $6-$7. Prices across the Prairies ranged from $194 per tonne in southwestern Saskatchewan to $215 per tonne in southern Alberta.
Average durum prices fell $3-$5 in most of Western Canada; bids ranged from about $258 to $267 per tonne.
The March spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted Thursday at US$6.085 per bushel, up five U.S. cents from the previous week.
Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures, traded in Chicago, are more closely linked to CPSR in Canada. The March K.C. wheat contract was quoted at US$4.78 per bushel on Thursday, up 12.5 U.S. cents compared to the previous week.
The March Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat contract settled Thursday at US$4.6175, up by 12.75 U.S. cents on the week.
The Canadian dollar settled Thursday at 79.97 U.S. cents, rising by almost three quarters of a cent over the course of the week.
— Ashley Robinson writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Glacier FarmMedia company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.
