CHICAGO: US wheat futures rose Friday, breaking a streak of four straight losing sessions, after the US Agriculture Department trimmed the supply outlook, said traders who also cited strength in the corn market.
* For the week, Chicago Board of Trade May soft red winter wheat ended down 5 percent, the biggest weekly loss for the benchmark contract since dropping 6.3 percent three months ago.
* Wheat's gains were limited by a sharp increase in the US dollar, which cuts demand for US commodities.
* Forecasts for rain in hard red winter wheat growing areas of the US Plains as well as spring wheat production areas also added pressure to the wheat market. "It looks wetter for them, a little more favorable in today's forecast," said Don Keeney, meteorologist for MDA EarthSat Weather.
* The USDA report projected global ending stocks of wheat for the 2011/12 crop year at 209.58 million tonnes, down from its February estimate of 213.1 million tonnes and below trade expectations for 212.608 million tonnes.
* USDA pegged domestic wheat ending stocks at 825 million bushels, 20 million bushels from its February estimate and below the average analyst forecast of 836 million bushels.
* But traders said that there was still enough wheat to meet demand.
* USDA raised its estimate of US wheat exports by 25 million bushels to 1.0 billion as world demand for US supplies has heated up in recent weeks.
* Private analyst Informa Economics forecast 2012 US all-wheat plantings at 57.745 million acres, down from its previous estimate of 57.9 million acres.
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