CBOT wheat rises on weather risks in US Plains

CHICAGO, April 17 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures rose on Thursday, supported by concerns that forecasted rain will not be enough to alleviate dryness in some U.S. wheat production regions

• CBOT May soft red winter wheat WK25 settled up 1 cent to $5.48-3/4 per bushel.

• K.C. May hard red winter wheat KWK25 ended down 1/2 cent to $5.57-1/2 a bushel and Minneapolis May spring wheat MWEK25 rose 2-1/2 cents to settle at $6.06-1/4 a bushel.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported winter wheat conditions at 47% good-to-excellent on Monday, with 34% of the U.S. wheat crop affected by drought as of Tuesday.

• Dryness concerns have made wheat futures sensitive to twists in precipitation forecasts, which currently predict major wheat-growing areas will miss out on expected rains this weekend.

• The International Grains Council trimmed its estimate for world wheat output, while consultancy Sovecon raised its forecast for Russia's crop.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported U.S. wheat export sales of 76,500 metric tons for 2024-25 and of 273,900 for 2025-26 in the week ended on April 10. Both were within analysts' expectations.