CBOT wheat ticks down on Trump-Putin call

CHICAGO, March 18 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures settled down as investors monitored the outcome of a phone call between the leaders of Russia and the U.S. about Russia's war on Ukraine.

• CBOT May soft red winter wheat WK25 settled down 3-1/2 cents to $5.65 a bushel.

• K.C. May hard red winter wheat KWK25 ended up 3/4 cents at $6.06-1/4 a bushel, while Minneapolis May spring wheat MWEK25 fell 1 cent to finish at $6.14 a bushel.

• U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded a two-hour phone call on Tuesday focused on a possible ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.

• Ending hostilities in the war is seen as bearish for wheat because it would increase security for exports from Russia and Ukraine, according to analysts.

• Wind storms and tornadoes over the weekend in the U.S. Midwest and Plains states drove fears of damage to wheat crops among traders, analysts said.