CBOT wheat closes lower as strong dollar weighs on prices

CHICAGO, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures fell on Tuesday as a stronger dollar weighed on prices and traders positioned ahead of the Christmas holiday.

• CBOT March soft red winter wheat WH25 settled down 5-3/4 cents at $5.34-3/4 a bushel.

• K.C. March hard red winter wheat KWH25 ended down 7-1/4 cents at $5.43-3/4 a bushel, while Minneapolis March spring wheat MWEH25 fell 6 cents to close at $5.89-1/2 a bushel.

• The wheat harvest wrapped up in Australia and Argentina, making more supplies available on the international market, analysts said.

• Precipitation may move through a dry U.S. central and southern Plains region over the next week, analysts said, benefiting the hard red winter wheat crop.

• The dollar defended recent gains over a basket of other currencies. A stronger dollar tends to make U.S. grain exports less competitive on the global market.

(Reporting by Renee Hickman in Chicago; Editing by Rod Nickel)

((renee.hickman@thomsonreuters.com))