CNS Canada –– Cash bids for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat held relatively steady during the week ended Monday, posting small losses in many locations in sympathy with the Minneapolis futures.

Average spot bids for CWRS (13.5 per cent protein) across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta came in at around $197 per tonne, or $5.35 per bushel, based on pricing available from a cross-section of delivery points. That compares with $198 per tonne ($5.40/bu.) the previous week. Basis levels held steady at an average discount of $66 relative to the futures.

The May spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted at US$7.1725 per bushel on Monday, down five cents from the week prior.

Only a handful of elevators in Alberta were offering spot bids for Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat, with an average basis of $100 below the futures as of Monday. The average price was around $173 per tonne ($4.70/bu.), which compares with $172 ($4.68/bu.) 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 May Kansas City wheat contract gained 2.5 cents during the week, settling at US$7.42 per bushel on Monday.

While large global supplies did put some pressure on the U.S. wheat market during the week, prices rallied on Monday on the back of weather concerns in the southern Plains and political unrest in Ukraine.

Average durum prices held steady, with the average price on Monday coming in at $179 per tonne ($4.87/bu.).

— Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.