CBOT wheat closes lower as traders eye cold fronts

Feb 12 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures eased on Wednesday as traders assessed freezing weather in key wheat-growing regions while short-covering added a lift to futures.

• CBOT March soft red winter wheat WH25 settled down 2-3/4 cents to $5.74-1/2 per bushel.

• K.C. March hard red winter wheat KWH25 ended down 1-1/4 cents to $5.91-1/2 per bushel.

• Minneapolis March spring wheat MWEH25 fell 3-1/2 cents to $6.14-3/4 per bushel.

• Grain traders are monitoring approaching cold fronts in the U.S. Plains and Black Sea region, where concerns over freeze damage to the nascent wheat crop have been blunted by forecasts for snow, which helps insulate the crops from frigid temperatures.

• Snow is likely to protect Midwest wheat from low temperatures that could cause winterkill next week, according to Commodity Weather Group, although dryness in the Southern Plains could stress hard red winter wheat.

• Wheat futures have also received support from short covering. Commodity funds continue to hold a large net short position in wheat, making the market prone to bouts of short covering.

• Euronext wheat prices slipped on Wednesday as a reduced French exports forecast and initial results reported from an Algerian tender put the focus on weak demand for Western European supplies.