Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed higher on Friday on technical buying and short-covering, traders said. CBOT March soft red winter wheat settled up 2-1/2 cents at $5.58-3/4 per bushel. For the week, the contract rose 5 cents a bushel or 0.9%, rebounding after the previous week's 3.4% decline.

Strong support noted at the CBOT March contract's 50-day moving average near $5.51. The contract dipped below the 50-day average on Monday for the first time since mid-December but rallied to close higher, a move traders saw as a bullish signal.

K.C. March hard red winter wheat ended up 4-3/4 cents on Friday at $4.72-1/2 a bushel and MGEX March spring wheat rose 3-1/4 cents to settle at $5.35-3/4. Chinese importers have recently booked French wheat for shipment during the first half of 2020, traders said, adding to an unusual run of French exports to China in the past few months.

Top global wheat suppliers Russia may ship less than 32 million tonnes abroad this season as factors such as the China coronavirus outbreak make domestic sales a better option for farmers, the IKAR consultancy said.

Copyright Reuters, 2020

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