Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures reached a seven-week high on short-covering and technical buying on Friday, while Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures hit their highest level in more than three months, traders said. CBOT March wheat ended up 6-1/2 cents at $4.41 a bushel after trading up to $4.42-1/2. That was the highest price for the most actively traded contract since December 4.

The most actively traded Kansas City wheat contract advanced 8 cents to $4.43 and touched its highest price since October 3 at $4.44-1/2. Unfavorably dry conditions in the US southern Plains, where hard red winter wheat is grown, helped support the markets, traders said. The crop is dormant and will not start growing again until the spring.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported export sales of US wheat in the latest week at 453,700 tonnes (old- and new-crop years combined), in line with analysts' expectations for 200,000 to 500,000 tonnes.

Copyright Reuters, 2018.