Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed higher on Friday on technical buying, including short-covering a day after the December contract hit six-week low, traders said. CBOT December wheat settled up 9 cents at $4.39-1/2 per bushel. However, for the week the contract fell 4 cents a bushel, or 0.9 percent, its third consecutive weekly decline.
K.C. December hard red winter wheat rose 10 cents on Friday to close at $4.36-1/4 a bushel and MGEX December spring wheat ended up 3-3/4 cents at $6.15. Rallies were capped by a smaller-than-expected weekly US export sales tally, and Thursday's larger-than-expected USDA forecasts of US and global 2017/18 wheat ending stocks.
The US Department of Agriculture reported export sales of US wheat in the latest week at 175,000 tonnes, below a range of trade estimates for 300,000 to 500,000 tonnes. Forecasts said showers this weekend in the southeastern portion of the US Plains and the Midwest should be followed by drier weather next week, improving the planting pace for winter wheat.