Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed higher on Friday, rebounding a day after the spot May contract posted a 2-1/2 month low. Rallies were limited by the arrival of beneficial rains in the southern US Plains winter wheat belt and forecasts for more over the next week. For the week, CBOT May wheat rose 11-1/2 cents per bushel or 2.6 percent, its third straight weekly decline.
CBOT May wheat settled up 3-3/4 cents at $4.24-3/4 per bushel. K.C. May hard red winter wheat futures ended unchanged at $4.28 and MGEX May spring wheat closed down 5 cents to $5.35-3/4. Grain industry lobby Coceral estimated that soft wheat production in the European Union will rise 7 percent this year to 144.8 million tonnes, supported by an expected recovery in French output.