Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures retreated on Thursday on technical selling and positioning ahead of a key government crop report due on Friday, traders said.

CBOT December soft red winter wheat settled 4-1/4 cents lower at $5.12-1/2 per bushel. The contract breached technical chart support at its 20-day moving average.

K.C. December hard red winter wheat fell 3 cents to $4.24-3/4 a bushel, while MGEX December spring wheat dropped 4-1/2 cents to close at $5.18-3/4 a bushel.

Traders were squaring positions ahead of a monthly US Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop supply and demand report on Friday.