CBOT wheat dips to nearly 8-month low on sluggish exports, rain relief

CHICAGO, March 28 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures dropped to a nearly eight-month low on Friday, closing down for a fifth straight session, as traders focused on sluggish exports and rain relief in parts of the U.S. Plains, market analysts said.

• Four of CBOT's soft-red winter wheat futures contracts set fresh contract lows in the session.

• CBOT May soft red winter wheat WK25 settled down 3-3/4 cents at $5.28-1/4 a bushel.

• At one point during the session, the most-active wheat contract on a continuous basis Wv1 dropped down to $5.17-1/2 - the lowest level since July 31.

• K.C. May hard red winter wheat KWK25 ended down 14-1/2 cents at $5.51-3/4 per bushel.

• Minneapolis May spring wheat MWEK25, which also set a new contract low earlier in the day, ended down 7-1/2 cents at $5.81 per bushel.

• Forecast rain for the U.S. and Russian wheat belts and a low volume of U.S. wheat weekly export sales reported on Thursday have helped push wheat futures lower this week, traders said.

• Grain traders said they also spent the day adjusting positions ahead of Monday's U.S. planting and stocks data from the Department of Agriculture.

• A U.S.-backed deal this week aimed at a ceasefire in the Black Sea has also weighed on wheat markets by raising the prospect of smoother exports from Russia and Ukraine.