Mumbai, 1 Mar (Commoditiescontrol): Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures closed higher on Thursday, as technical trading and a spate of short-covering gave a boost to nearby contracts, traders said.
But wheat futures - particularly the deferred contracts - continued to face pressure from spillover weakness from corn and soybeans, strength in the U.S. dollar and stiff competition for global export business, traders said.
CBOT March soft red winter wheat futures settled 6-1/2 cents higher at $5.77-1/2 per bushel, and most-active May wheat ended 1-1/2 cents higher at $5.76-1/4 per bushel.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported export sales of U.S. 2023/24 wheat in the week to Feb. 22 at 327,300 metric tons, in line with market expectations for 200,000 to 500,000 tons.
The CBOT reported 484 deliveries against the CBOT March contract on first notice day and 56 deliveries against K.C. March hard red winter wheat futures.
K.C. May hard red winter wheat last traded up 5-1/2 cents at $5.86-1/2 a bushel, while MGEX May spring wheat settled up 3 cents at $6.59 a bushel.
Russia has ample supplies of exportable grain, analysts said, and Ukraine's grain exports so far in February have exceeded the last year's level by almost 12%.
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau: 09820130172)