CBOT wheat ends higher on slow US harvest, short-covering

CHICAGO, June 17 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures hit a one-week high on Tuesday as a slow start to the U.S. winter wheat harvest allowed speculators to cover short positions, brokers said.

• CBOT July soft red winter wheat WN25 settled up 12-1/2 cents at $5.49 per bushel.

• K.C. July hard red winter wheat KWN25 ended up 11-3/4 cents at $5.47-3/4 a bushel and Minneapolis July spring wheat MWEN25 rose 8 cents to finish at $6.30-3/4 a bushel.

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

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported on Monday that the U.S. winter wheat harvest was 10% complete, lagging the five-year average of 16%.

• The USDA's winter wheat ratings declined, with 52% of the crop rated good to excellent, down from 54% last week. Analysts had expected no change.

• But ratings improved for spring wheat, a factor that appeared to cap gains in Minneapolis spring wheat futures. The USDA rated 57% of the U.S. spring wheat crop as good to excellent, up from 53% previously.

• European wheat rose, following CBOT wheat, but gains were capped by disappointing results from Algeria's tender, traders said.

• Algeria’s state grains agency OAIC bought an estimated 550,000 to 570,000 metric tons of milling wheat in an international tender, European traders said. The wheat was expected to be largely sourced from the Black Sea region, especially Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine.