Wheat bids in Western Canada were up across the board for the week ended June 14. There were gains in Canada Western Red Spring Wheat (CWRS), Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) and Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD).
Weakness in the Canadian dollar and gains in Kansas City and Chicago wheat futures provided support; a decrease in Minneapolis wheat futures weighed on values.
Average CWRS (13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were up by $8-$14 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 $241 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to as high as $258 in southern Alberta.
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Quoted basis levels varied from location to location and ranged from $35 to $51 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$180 to US$193 per tonne. That would put the currency-adjusted basis levels at about US$17-$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 $22 to $39 below the futures.
CPSR bids were up $10-$12 per tonne; prices ranged from $215 per tonne in southwestern Saskatchewan to $243 per tonne in southern Alberta.
Average durum prices were up, with bids ranging anywhere from $239 per tonne in northwestern Saskatchewan to $253 in western Manitoba.
The July spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts Canada are based, was quoted June 14 at US$5.6325 per bushel, down 5.5 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 July K.C. wheat contract was quoted June 14 at US$4.7625 per bushel, up 27.25 U.S. cents compared to the previous week.
The July Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat contract settled at US$5.385 per bushel on June 14, up 28.5 cents on the week.
The Canadian dollar closed June 14 at 74.71 U.S. cents, a decrease of about two-thirds of a cent from the previous week.
