CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures fell on Monday as harvest across the southern US Plains breadbasket continued and a firmer dollar added pressure by making US grains less competitive globally, traders said.

CBOT July soft red winter wheat settled down 3-3/4 cents at $5.11-1/2 per bushel.

K.C. July hard red winter wheat ended down 3/4 cent at $4.60-1/2 per bushel and MGEX July spring wheat finished up 5-1/2 cents at $5.24-1/4 a bushel.

Hot and dry weather in much of the southern Plains has pushed winter wheat crops to maturity and should help speed the harvest, which is still in its early stages.

Russian export prices for the new wheat crop, due to be harvested over the summer months of June to August, rose last week as the market anticipated dry weather would mean lower volumes in part of Russia's south, analysts said.

European Union and British soft wheat production forecasts by the grain trade association Coceral were lowered to 129.7 million tonnes from 135.4 million estimated last month. That compared to 146.8 million tonnes harvested last year.