Spring wheat bids in Western Canada were lower during the week as it was pressured because of the losses in the U.S. wheat futures, which made up for the supportive influence of a weaker Canadian dollar.
The Average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat prices were steady but were down by $3 per ton across the Prairie Provinces. According to price quotes from a cross section of delivery points compiled by PDQ (Price and Data Quotes)in western Manitoba, the average price of wheat ranges from about #224 per ton to as high as $245 in northern Alberta.
The prices are quoted differently from location to location but generally improved slightly to range from about $26 to $47 per ton 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, the CWRS bid ranged from US166 per ton to US$182. That would put the currency-adjusted basis levels at about US$16 to US$32 below the futures.
The Minneapolis futures are converted to Canadian dollars CWRS basis level across Western Canada range from $22 to $43.
The May spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, where most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, were at US$5.385 per bushel, down by 9.25 U.S. cents from the previous week.
The Canadian dollar settled March 10 at 74.26 U.S. cents, down by roughly half a cent relative to its U.S. counterpart compared to the previous week.