US winter wheat futures climbed for a fourth straight session on Monday on short-covering and concerns that dry conditions in the US Plains wheat belt could curb winter crop production, traders said. Benchmark Chicago Board of Trade March soft red winter wheat futures rose 8-1/4 cents to $4.49-1/4 a bushel, the highest since November 10. K.C. March hard red winter wheat gained 10 cents to $4.53 a bushel, the highest since October 26. Minneapolis March spring wheat ended at $6.13-3/4 a bushel, down 3/4 cent.

The US Department of Agriculture is due to release updated crop condition ratings for winter wheat later on Monday. The data is expected to show a decline in conditions following hharsh cold earlier this month Commodity funds' large net short position in wheat futures left the markets prone to short-covering rallies. The supplement to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly commitments report showed large speculators expanded their net short position in CBOT wheat by about 2,000 contracts in the week to January 23, to 166,064 lots.

Copyright Reuters, 2018