Cash bids across SW Saskatchewan were generally lower yesterday. Durum finding the most support of the grains, now showing a premium over spring wheat in both the new crop and old crop. The average ex farm bid across SW Sask was C$293 for a Dec21 lift. On the back of an envelope this would roughly equate to a Newcastle port number somewhere around AUD$365 with no basis premium for winter fobbing and using Italy as a consumer reference.
Spring wheat bids there slipped around C$1.42 for the same period, now bid on average C$282 ex farm. If this grain was destined to say somewhere like Japan out of the PNW it would compare to an Aussie port number somewhere around AUD$395. Currently we see new crop APH closer to AUD$320, so there’s plenty of potential for grade spread improvements there. Even US DNS wheat out of the PNW using the same destination comes back to about AUD$390 for a Sept transfer.

In the US futures market corn was a little firmer, spurred on by yet another 1.22mt sale to China. Combining the increased demand from China with the standard business, US corn sales week on week were larger than expected. The drought pruned crop in S.America continues to push Chinese business to the States. Not so with soybeans though where Chinese buyers are having a field day with Brazilian soybeans much to the detriment of US sales volume.
Wheat futures were lower on the back of better weather across the US, Canada and Europe and attempting some alignment to cash prices.