MarketsFarm — Wheat bids in Western Canada were mixed for the week ended Thursday, with minute gains and larger losses in CWRS, CWAD and CPSR wheats in all locations.
Average CWRS (Canada Western Red Spring, 13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were up by 50 cents to down by $1 per tonne. The outlier was in northwestern Saskatchewan, where prices were down by nearly $10 according to price quotes from a cross-section of delivery points compiled by PDQ (Price and Data Quotes).
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Average CWRS prices ranged from about $207 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to as high as $225 per tonne in southern Alberta.
Quoted basis levels varied from location to location and ranged from $19 to $37 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$156 to US$170 per tonne. That would put currency-adjusted basis levels at about US$19-$32 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 $25 to $43 below the futures.
Wheat bids for CPSR (Canada Prairie Spring Red) were up $1 to down by $6 per tonne. Prices ranged from $169 per tonne in southern Saskatchewan to $189 per tonne in southern Alberta.
Average CWAD (Canada Western Amber Durum) prices were steady to higher, with bids ranging from $234 per tonne in southwestern Saskatchewan to $240 per tonne in southern Alberta.
The MGEX December spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted Thursday at US$5.1375 per bushel, down 3.75 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$4.0425 per bushel, steady from the previous week.
The September Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soft wheat contract settled at US$4.7175 per bushel on Thursday, down 2.75 cents on the week.
The Canadian dollar closed Thursday at 75.23 U.S. cents on August 22, down 0.18 of a U.S. cent on the week.
— Marlo Glass writes for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.
