CBOT wheat climbs 1%, Ukraine-Russia tension in spotlight

CHICAGO, June 4 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures rose 1.4% on Wednesday as signs of a hardening conflict between Ukraine and Russia and worries about dryness in China appeared to spark a round of short-covering, analysts said.

• CBOT July soft red winter wheat WN25 settled up 7-1/4 cents at $5.43-1/4 per bushel.

• K.C. July hard red winter wheat KWN25 ended up 3-3/4 cents at $5.40-1/2 a bushel and Minneapolis July spring wheat MWEN25 rose 5-1/2 cents to end at $6.23-1/2 a bushel.

• Commodity funds hold a sizable net short position in CBOT wheat futures, leaving the market prone to bouts of short-covering.

• Concerns over Black Sea grain trade simmered as Ukraine stepped up attacks on Russian targets. Russian President Vladimir Putin told U.S. President Donald Trump in a telephone conversation that Moscow would have to respond to high-profile Ukrainian drone attacks, according to Trump.

• Parts of China's wheat belt in Shaanxi and Henan provinces have been hit by hot, dry weather that could reduce harvests, though it was unclear if this would prompt more imports given large Chinese stocks.

• Ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly export sales report on Thursday, analysts expected sales of U.S. new-crop wheat in the week ended May 29 at 300,000 to 800,000 metric tons.

• Meanwhile, recent rains in the U.S. winter wheat belt have improved crop ratings but also raised worries about crop quality in states including Oklahoma as the harvest begins. Quality problems could pressure prices by creating supplies of undesirable grain.