Wheat bids in Western Canada were mixed for the week ended March 1, as the Canadian dollar lost ground during the week and U.S. futures dropped.
Average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS, 13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were down by $1 per tonne on the low side, but gained to $11 per tonne on the high side, according to price quotes from a cross-section of delivery points compiled by PDQ (Price and Data Quotes). Average prices ranged from about $245 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to as high as $264 per tonne in southern Alberta.
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Quoted basis levels varied from location to location and ranged from $40 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.
When accounting for currency exchange rates by adjusting Canadian prices to U.S. dollars, CWRS bids ranged from US$185 to US$199 per tonne. That would put the currency-adjusted basis levels at about US$6-$20 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 $8 to $27 below the futures.
Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat bids were also mixed, decreasing by as much as $4 per tonne in some locations, while gaining up to $10 per tonne in other locations. Prices ranged from $210 per tonne in southeastern Saskatchewan to $225 per tonne in southern Alberta.
Average durum prices traded either side of steady by $1, with bids ranging anywhere from $235 per tonne in western Saskatchewan to $245 per tonne in southern Alberta.
The May spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts Canada are based, was quoted March 1 at US$5.5825 per bushel, down by 6.25 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 May K.C. wheat contract was quoted March 1 at US$4.4475 per bushel, down by 21.25 U.S. cents compared to the previous week.
The May Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat contract settled at US$4.5725 per bushel on March 1, down 34.5 U.S. cents on the week.
The Canadian dollar closed March 1 at 75.41 U.S. cents, a decrease of a half-cent from the previous week.
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