Most cash basis bids for hard red winter wheat (HRW) in the US southern Plains held steady on Friday except in Enid, Oklahoma where they rose, spurred by the turnaround in futures prices, said merchants. Short-covering boosted Chicago Board of Trade K.C. wheat futures a day after the US Department of Agriculture lowered its forecasts of US wheat ending below trade expectations. At 11:22 am CST (1722 GMT) KCBT March wheat was up 7-1/2 cents to $4.58-3/4 per bushel. Thursday's protein premiums for wheat shipped to and through Kansas City were mainly steady to weaker, but up 1 cent per bushel for grain with 11.8 percent protein.