News that Iraq set a freight tender to ship wheat it had bought from the United States also buoyed futures.
As of 10:55 am CST (1655 GMT), CBOT December wheat was up 2-1/2 cents at $3.00 per bushel. Deferred months were up 1-1/2 to 3 cents.
Man Financial bought 500 March contracts and spread 1,000 December/March, traders said. Fimat also an early buyer.
The US Department of Agriculture late Monday said 52 percent of the US winter wheat crop was rated in good to excellent condition, a decline from 55 percent the previous week.