Wheat bids in Western Canada were mixed for the week ended Nov. 23, with a steady tone in Canada Western Red Spring wheat as pressure from soft U.S. futures was countered by support from a weaker Canadian dollar.
Average CWRS (13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices held within 50 cents of unchanged, according to price quotes from a cross-section of delivery points compiled by PDQ (Price and Data Quotes). Average prices ranged from about $250 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to as high as $271 in southern Alberta.
Quoted basis levels varied from location to location and ranged from $38 to $59 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.
Read Also
GRAIN MARKET: Good week for canola not likely to last
Canola prices hung on fairly well during the week ended Oct. 9, but Canadian farmers may still see canola heading under $600 a tonne
When accounting for currency exchange rates by adjusting Canadian prices to U.S. dollars, CWRS bids ranged from US$189 to US$205 per tonne. That would put the currency-adjusted basis levels at about US$7-$23 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 $9 to $30 below the futures.
Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat bids were stronger, increasing by between 24 cents and $4 per tonne depending on the location. Prices ranged from $218 in southeastern Saskatchewan to $236 per tonne in southern Alberta.
Average durum prices were down, with bids ranging anywhere from $210 in southwestern Saskatchewan to $223 in western Manitoba.
The March spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts Canada are based, was quoted Nov. 23 at US$5.7125 per bushel, down 2.25 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 March K.C. wheat contract was quoted at US$4.86 per bushel on Nov. 23, down by 20.5 U.S. cents compared to the previous week.
The March Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat contract settled at US$5.0725 per bushel on Nov. 23, down eight U.S. cents on the week.
The Canadian dollar settled Nov. 23 at 75.6 U.S. cents, down by nearly half a cent.
