CBOT wheat futures higher on short-covering

Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed higher on Friday, setting a 1-1/2 week top as traders covered short positions, traders said. CBOT July wheat settled up 6-3/4 cents at $4.74-3/4 per bushel. K.C. hard red winter (HRW) wheat and MGEX spring wheat futures also closed higher. The fundamental outlook for wheat remains bearish, with the US Department of Agriculture projecting that domestic stocks will rise to a 29-year high by the end of the 2016/17 marketing year.
Trade monitoring rains forecast for the southern US Plains early next week. The moisture should bolster HRW wheat yield prospects but might also threaten grain quality. CBOT wheat sagged in early moves as the dollar firmed, making US wheat less attractive in a global marketplace already awash in supplies.