Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed higher on Thursday, extending a recovery from this week's three-month low, supported by short-covering and worries about dry conditions stressing crops in Australia, traders said. CBOT December soft red winter wheat settled up 5-1/2 cents at $4.66-1/4 per bushel.
K.C. December hard red winter wheat ended up 9-1/4 cents at $3.93-3/4 a bushel and MGEX December spring wheat rose 8 cents to settle at $5.02. The nearby K.C. and MGEX futures contracts were rebounding from 14- and 10-year lows, respectively, set on Tuesday. A setback in the US dollar index lent support, in theory making US grains more competitive in the global export market.