Glacier Farm Media | MarketsFarm – Western Canadian cash prices for spring wheat and amber durum were mixed during the week ended March 6.
Declines in the United States wheat complex weighed on Prairie cash prices, as did a stronger Canadian dollar.
Tariff turmoil kept pushing wheat prices lower. U.S. President Donald Trump went through with his 25 per cent tariffs on most imports of Canadian goods on March 4. However, two days later Trump backtracked some of his tariffs, granting a reprieve to those goods covered by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement until April 2.
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Average CWRS (13.5%) prices lost C$4.70 to gaining C$5.70 per tonne, according to price quotes from a cross-section of delivery points compiled by PDQ (Price and Data Quotes). Those prices ranged from about C$265.80 per tonne in western Manitoba to C$298.70 per tonne in southern Alberta.
Quoted basis levels varied from location to location and ranged from C$47.60 to C$80.50 per tonne above the futures when using the grain company methodology of quoting the basis as the difference between the 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 (C$1=US$0.6989), CWRS bids ranged from US$185.80 to US$208.80 per tonne. That would put the currency-adjusted basis levels at about US$9.50 to US$32.50 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 ranged from C$6.60 to C$22.70 below the futures.
Average CPRS (11.5%) wheat gave up C$2.80 to C$6.60 per tonne. Bids ranged from C$257.20 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to C$281.10 per tonne in southern Alberta.
Average CWAD prices bumped up C$1.30 to C$2.90 per tonne. Bids ranged from C$328.70 per tonne in northwestern Saskatchewan to C$344.60 per tonne in southern Alberta.
The May spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, which most CWRS contracts Canada are based off of, was quoted at US$5.9400 per bushel on March 6, down 10.75 cents on the week.
The Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures, which are now traded in Chicago, are more closely linked to CPRS in Canada. The May Kansas City wheat contract was quoted at US$5.6575 per bushel on March 6, losing 19.50 cents from a week ago.
The May Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat contract settled at US$5.5400 per bushel on March 6, slipping 8.50 cents.
The loonie gained more than a half cent on the week, settling at 69.89 U.S. cents.
