CNS Canada — Cash spring wheat bids across Western Canada softened slightly during the week ended Friday, as gains in the Canadian dollar put pressure on values.
Depending on the location, average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat prices were down 50 cents to $1, with the exception of southern Alberta where they were up 25 cents, according to price quotes from a cross-section of delivery points across the Prairie provinces compiled by PDQ (Price and Data Quotes).
Average prices ranged from about $228 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to as high as $243 in northern Alberta.
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, but generally improved by about $2-$3 to range from $34 to $50 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 the Canadian dollar cash bids.
When accounting for currency exchange rates by adjusting Canadian prices to U.S. dollars, CWRS bids ranged from US$175 to US$186 per tonne, roughly the same compared to the previous week. That would put the currency-adjusted basis levels at about US$8-US$19 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 $10 to $25 below the futures.
Average Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) bids hung steady on the week. Average CPSR prices came in at about $202-$206 per tonne in Saskatchewan, and $213-$216 per tonne in Alberta.
Average durum prices were up by as much as $5 per tonne, depending on the location, with bids in Saskatchewan ranging from roughly $294 to $302 per tonne.
The July spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted Friday at US$5.2725 per bushel, down US0.5 cents 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 Friday at US$4.5975 per bushel, up US10.75 cents compared to the previous week.
The July Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat contract settled Friday at US$4.815, up by US13.75 cents on the week.
The Canadian dollar closed Friday at US76.7 cents, down by roughly half a cent relative to its U.S. counterpart on the week.
— Dave Sims writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.
