CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed higher on Monday on bargain buying after the benchmark May contract dipped to its lowest level of 2021, traders said.

• CBOT May soft red winter wheat settled up 3-1/2 cents at $6.16-3/4 per bushel, after a drop to $6.07-1/4, its lowest since Dec. 22.

• K.C. May hard red winter wheat ended up 1-1/4 cents at $5.69-1/2 a bushel while MGEX May spring wheat fell 3-1/4 cents to $6.10-3/4.

• A firmer dollar hung over the markets, in theory making US grains less competitive globally.

  • The US Department of Agriculture reported export inspections of US wheat in the latest week at 302,188 tonnes, below a range of trade expectations for 350,000 to 600,000 tonnes and a four-week low.

  • Traders await weekly USDA crop progress reports due later on Monday, showing winter wheat condition ratings for a handful of states. The USDA's full weekly US crop progress reports are scheduled to resume on April 5.

  • Analysts on average expect the USDA in its quarterly stocks report on Wednesday to report US March 1 wheat stocks at 1.272 billion bushels, down 10.1% from a year ago and the smallest since 2015.