CHICAGO: US wheat futures rose on Monday, with the most-active CBOT soft red winter wheat contract hitting its highest level on a continuous basis since December 2014, on concerns about dry soils limiting production in key growing areas around the globe.

The benchmark CBOT December soft red winter wheat contract struggled to hold support above the high end of its 20-day Bollinger range, a key technical benchmark.

The front-month K.C. hard red winter wheat contract hit its highest level on a continuous basis since Aug. 10, 2018.

MGEX spring wheat topped out at its highest mark since June 17, 2019.

A US Agriculture Department report on Monday afternoon was expected to show that US winter wheat planting advanced to 81% complete as of Oct. 18, up from 68% a week earlier.

Weekly export inspections totaled 239,688 tonnes in the latest reporting week, USDA said, down from 514,649 tonnes the prior week and below market expectations for 400,000 tonnes to 600,000 tonnes.