US wheat ends firm, buoyed by euro zone hopes

CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures ended firm on Friday on optimism that summits this weekend and next week may result in a resolution of the euro zone debt crisis.

* However, wheat ended well below the day's highs and faded late as the Dow eased from its highs and the dollar pared losses.

* European wheat futures rose in step with US grains and broader markets amid cautious optimism that European leaders would take decisive action in the coming week to tackle a debt crisis in the euro zone.

* Dry weather remains an issue in the US Plains winter wheat belt. Joel Widenor, meteorologist for Commodity Weather Group, said 20 percent of the Plains would have crop establishment problems.