"Minneapolis and Kansas City have been following this short covering in Chicago," a Minneapolis trader said. "The flat price got to the point where we saw decent country selling."
Hedge-related selling picked up toward the close after a slow start.
Spring wheat receipts on the MGE cash floor had totalled only 40 rail cars on Tuesday, down from 230 on Friday and 222 a year ago.
MGE March wheat closed up 3 cents at $3.87 per bushel after reaching $3.88, its highest value since October 18. Deferred months-ended up 3 to 4-1/4 cents.
Volume was light, estimated by the exchange at 2,967 contracts, down from 3,186 on Friday. UBS Warburg was a featured buyer, while Country Hedging sold about 200 March, traders said.
The March contract drew some support from inter-market spreads, with traders buying Minneapolis wheat against Kansas City, traders said.
Strength in Chicago wheat futures set the tone for the market.
CBOT wheat bounced higher on fund short covering, rebounding from a weak open. Funds remain heavily net short in CBOT wheat, leaving that market open to short-covering rallies.
However, funds remained long in Minneapolis and Kansas City wheat. The CFTC's Commitments of Traders report showed that as of December 20, funds were net long by 6,317 contracts for MGE wheat futures and options combined.
Fundamental news was scarce, and wheat exports were quiet over the long holiday weekend. US markets were closed on Monday in observance of the Christmas holiday.
The US Department of Agriculture reported weekly exports inspections of US wheat at 24.4 million bushels. Traders were monitoring a dry and unseasonably warm weather pattern in the US Plains hard red winter wheat belt.
The mild temperatures could stimulate growth, leaving the crop vulnerable to further damage.