CBOT wheat extends gains, touches one-month high on short-covering

CHICAGO, May 21 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures extended gains on Wednesday and touched a one-month high at one point, supported by a weaker dollar and short-covering encouraged by production concerns, market analysts said.

• CBOT July soft red winter wheat WN25 settled up 3-1/4 cents at $5.49-1/4 a bushel.

• Earlier in the session, the most-active CBOT wheat contract on a continuous basis Wv1 reached $5.56-1/4, its highest since April 21.

• K.C. July hard red winter wheat KWN25 ended up 4-1/4 cents at $5.40-1/2 a bushel, and Minneapolis July spring wheat MWEN25 rose 6-1/2 cents at $6.04-1/4 a bushel.

• The strongest gains were seen in the Minneapolis and KC wheat markets, amid questions about crop damage in China and Russia, overall Northern Hemisphere harvest prospects and signs of increased global wheat demand, said Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodity Analytics.

• Parts of China including the major wheat-producing region of Henan saw temperatures reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday, with authorities issuing heat warnings and offering aid to farmers to protect food production.

• Whether the heat wave caused damage to the wheat crop is not yet clear, traders said.

• High temperatures and a lack of rain over the coming months are expected to impact the harvest in Russia's largest grain region, Rostov, the head of the local Russian Grain Union lobby group said this week, after a farming emergency was declared.