CBOT wheat ends higher as Russia-Ukraine tensions escalate

CHICAGO, June 6 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed higher on Friday for a third straight session as escalating hostilities between key grain exporters Russia and Ukraine, along with weather-related U.S. harvest delays, prompted speculators to cover short positions ahead of the weekend, traders said.

• CBOT July soft red winter wheat WN25 settled up 9-1/4 cents at $5.54-3/4 per bushel after reaching $5.55-3/4, the contract's highest since May 21.

• K.C. July hard red winter wheat KWN25 ended up 6-3/4 cents at $5.49-1/4 a bushel and Minneapolis July spring wheat MWEN25 rose 10 cents to finish at $6.35-1/4 a bushel.

• Russia launched an intense missile and drone barrage at the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, killing four people. The attacks followed a warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin that the Kremlin would hit back after Ukrainian drones destroyed several strategic bomber aircraft in attacks inside Russia.

• In the southern U.S. Plains, the National Weather Service posted flood watches on Friday afternoon across much of Oklahoma, where farmers are starting to harvest winter wheat.

• Euronext wheat futures rose as the euro fell back from a one-month high against the dollar and as CBOT prices firmed.

• Romania, one of the European Union's biggest grain producers, is expecting a record-large wheat harvest this year, as ample spring rain should help it rebound from last year's drought-stricken output, analysts and the agriculture ministry said.

• Ukraine's grain exports in the 2025/26 July-June season are expected to fall to 35 million metric tons in the worst-case scenario against a forecast 40 million in 2024/25, following a lower harvest, a deputy agriculture minister said.