CHICAGO: US wheat futures rose 2.1 percent to a one-week high on Thursday as dry conditions in the US Plains and concerns about violence in major exporter Ukraine sparked a round of short covering, traders said.

The benchmark Chicago Board of Trade May soft red winter wheat contract rallied through technical resistance at its 30-day moving average.

MGEX May spring wheat also broke through its 30-day moving averages. Traders said that MGEX spring contracts received support from planting delays in key production states such as North Dakota.

Wheat futures have risen for three straight days, with the front-month CBOT contract gaining 3.3 percent during the streak.

Drought conditions expanded in key wheat-growing areas across the US Plains, including top US wheat producer Kansas, according to Drought Monitor reports issued by a consortium of climatologists.

Ukrainian forces killed up to five pro-Moscow rebels on Thursday and Russia launched army drills near the border in response, raising fears its troops would invade.

The US Agriculture Department said on Thursday morning that US export sales of wheat for the 2013/14 crop year were 339,100 tonnes in the latest reporting week, near the high end of market expectations for 200,000 to 400,000 tonnes.

New-crop export sales of wheat were 271,700 tonnes, within the range of trade forecasts for 250,000 to 500,000 tonnes.