CBOT wheat ends higher, following strength in corn

CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed higher on Thursday for a fourth straight session on spillover strength from corn and firming cash values for soft red winter wheat, traders said.

* CBOT July soft red winter wheat settled up 9-1/4 cents at $5.35-1/2 per bushel and gained relative to back months on spreads, supported by strong domestic cash basis bids.

* K.C. July hard red winter wheat ended up 5-1/2 cents at $4.68-1/4 a bushel, while MGEX July spring wheat rose 1-1/2 cents to $5.66-1/4, trailing advances in the other two markets.

* The Commodity Weather Group said rains through Saturday would bring minor relief to dry wheat areas in the Canadian Prairies.

* Argentina's Rosario grains exchange forecast the country's 2019-20 wheat harvest, which has begun in recent weeks, at 22 million tonnes, up from 19.5 million tonnes for 2018-19.

* Iraq has enough wheat and rice to last until the end of the year, although it will continue to import to boost its reserves, the head of its state grain board said.

* A worsening of European wheat's competitiveness on world markets led crop consultancy Strategie Grains to cut its forecast for EU 2019-20 soft wheat exports to 22.1 million tonnes from 23.2 million previously.

* Dry weather will persist across Australia until at least the end of September, the country's weather bureau said, in a forecast that threatens to further lower wheat production in the world's No. 4 exporter.