Prairie wheat bids dip slightly

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Published: September 21, 2015

,

(Country Guide file photo)

CNS Canada — Cash wheat bids across Western Canada generally dropped lower during the week ended Friday.

Average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat prices were up by C$1-$3 per tonne across the three Prairie provinces, according to price quotes from a cross-section of delivery points. Bids ranged from about $221 per tonne in southern Saskatchewan to as high as $233 per tonne in southern Alberta.

Quoted basis levels varied from location to location, but improved to sit at $36 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.

Read Also

Detail from the front of the CBOT building in Chicago. (Vito Palmisano/iStock/Getty Images)

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.

When accounting for the currency exchange rates by adjusting the Canadian prices to U.S. dollars, CWRS bids ranged from US$168 to $177 per tonne. That would put the currency adjusted basis levels at about US$13-$22 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 C$17 to $29 below the futures.

Average Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) bids were down C$1-$3 per tonne. CPSR prices came in at about $180 per tonne in Manitoba, $191 per tonne in Saskatchewan, and $203 per tonne in Alberta.

Soft white spring (CWSWS) wheat prices were down by C$7 per tonne on average. Prices ranged from C$201 to $202 per tonne in Alberta.

Winter (CWRW) wheat prices were down by C$2-$4 per tonne. Prices ranged from about C$183 to $187 per tonne, with the best levels in Alberta.

Average durum (CWAD) prices increased by C$2-$4 per tonne. Average bids in southern Saskatchewan, where the bulk of the crop is grown, were down by $7 per tonne to sit at $321.

The December spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted at US$5.11 per bushel on Friday, up 0.5 cents from the week prior.

Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures, traded in Chicago, are more closely linked to CPSR in Canada. The December K.C. wheat contract was quoted Friday at US$4.8225 per bushel, unchanged from the week prior.

The December Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat contract settled at US$4.8675 on Friday, 1.75 cents stronger compared to the week prior.

The Canadian dollar closed Friday at US75.66 cents, up by a fifth of a cent relative to its U.S. counterpart compared to the previous week.

Dave Sims writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

Table: The weekly snapshot of average published prices for the week ending Sept. 21, 2015. Futures prices (US$ per tonne) vary slightly due to changes while data is collected. Cash bids (C$ per tonne) have currency conversion included in the basis. Source: AGCanada.com.

CWRS Future Basis Net
Manitoba 190.15 32.30 222.45
Sask North Central 191.27 31.35 222.63
Sask South 190.05 31.48 221.54
Alberta South 189.23 47.26 236.49
Alberta Central 189.55 44.23 233.79
Peace 189.73 40.87 230.60
CPSR Future Basis Net
Manitoba 178.94 1.60 180.54
Sask North Central 179.55 12.55 192.11
Sask South 179.23 10.89 190.13
Alberta South 178.33 26.51 204.84
Alberta Central 179.13 25.62 204.75
Peace 180.31 21.20 201.51
CWSWS Future Basis Net
Alberta South 181.70 20.96 202.66
Alberta Central 181.88 20.61 202.49
Peace 181.70 19.89 201.59
CWRW Future.    . Basis.   . Net
Manitoba 178.96 5.35 184.31
Sask North Central 179.24 2.16 181.41
Sask South 179.23 3.80 183.03
Alberta South 178.33 5.89 184.22
Alberta Central 178.87 8.53 187.40
Peace 179.24 6.35 185.59
CWAD     Net
Sask North Central.      . 316.78
Sask South 321.07
Alberta South 321.04
Alberta Central 326.16

About the author

Dave Sims

Dave Sims

Columnist

Dave Sims writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting. Dave has a deep background in the radio industry and is a graduate of the University of Winnipeg. He lives in Winnipeg with his wife and two beautiful children. His hobbies include reading, podcasting and following the Atlanta Braves.

explore

Stories from our other publications