Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed higher on Tuesday, rallying in late technical moves following a choppy session, traders said. CBOT May soft red winter wheat settled up 3-1/2 cents at $5.22-1/4 per bushel. K.C. May hard red winter wheat ended up 3-3/4 cents at $4.44-3/4 a bushel while MGEX May spring wheat fell 2 cents to finish at $5.18-3/4.

Recent weakness in global cash wheat prices hung over the market, capping rallies. Russian wheat export prices fell for the sixth week running last week, following global benchmarks and a tumbling rouble, analysts said. The spot CBOT March contract drew support from the absence of deliveries against the contract so far in the delivery cycle.

The US Department of Agriculture in a monthly supply/demand report trimmed its forecast of global wheat inventories at the end of the 2019-20 marketing year to 287.14 million tonnes, below an average of trade expectations and down from 288.03 million in February.

The USDA left its forecast of US 2019-20 wheat ending stocks unchanged at 940 million bushels. Wheat-belt farmers in Australia's east are rushing to secure seed several weeks before the all-important winter crop planting starts amid hopes that a devastating three-year drought is coming to an end.