Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher Monday on fund short-covering ahead of a key US government crop report on Friday and spillover strength from Minneapolis spring wheat futures, traders said. CBOT December wheat settled up 4-1/2 cents at $4.54 a bushel. K.C. December ended up 3-3/4 cents at $4.54 a bushel while MGEX December spring wheat rose 14 cents at $6.48-3/4 a bushel.
Traders have begun adjusting positions ahead of the US Department of Agriculture's US small grains summary and quarterly stocks reports, both of which are due on Friday. Market pressured in early moves by weekend rains that helped recharge soil moisture in the southern US Plains, where producers are planting the 2018 winter wheat crop. Ahead of the USDA's weekly crop progress report due later on Monday, analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the government to report US winter wheat planting progress at 26 percent.