Prairie CWRS bids weaken slightly

CNS Canada — Average cash bids for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat generally moved lower during the week ended Friday.

Average CWRS prices lost about C$1-$4 per tonne, with prices ranging from about $197 per tonne in north-central Saskatchewan to $216 per tonne in Manitoba, according to bids from a cross-section of delivery points across Western Canada.

Average Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) bids were mixed, moving up or down by a couple of dollars per tonne depending on the location. CPSR prices came in at about $169 in Manitoba, $172-$174 per tonne in Saskatchewan, and $178-$184 in Alberta.

Soft white spring (CWSWS) wheat prices were down by about $2-$3 per tonne, ranging from $175 to $178 in Alberta. Winter wheat prices were down by $2-$12 per tonne, ranging from $152 to $157 across Western Canada.

Durum prices were mixed, with spot durum prices in southern Saskatchewan, where the bulk of the crop is grown, relatively unchanged at $346 per tonne.

The March spring wheat contract in Minneapolis, off of which most CWRS contracts in Canada are based, was quoted at US$5.5675 per bushel on Friday, down 19.25 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 Kansas City wheat contract was quoted Friday at US$5.4025 per bushel, down 23.75 cents from last week.

The March Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soft wheat contract settled Friday at US$5.0275, 27.25 cents lower compared to the week prior.

The Canadian dollar finished the week at US78.67 cents, down by roughly two cents compared to the previous week.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin 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 Feb. 2, 2015. Futures prices (US$ per tonne) vary slightly due to changes while data is collected. Cash bids (C$ per tonne) include currency conversion in basis. Source: AGCanada.com.