CBOT wheat ends firm on inter-market spreads; KC wheat sags

CHICAGO, July 28 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures ended fractionally higher on Monday, gaining against corn, soybeans and other U.S. wheat markets on inter-market spreading, traders said.

• CBOT September soft red winter wheat WU25 settled up 1/4 cent at $5.38-1/2 per bushel, turning higher after sagging early in the session.

• K.C. September hard red winter wheat KWU25 ended down 1/2 cent at $5.26 a bushel.

• Minneapolis September spring wheat MWEU25 settled down 3-1/4 cents at $5.81-1/2 a bushel after hitting a life-of-contract low at $5.80-3/4.

• The U.S. winter wheat harvest is winding down. Ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly crop progress report due later on Monday, analysts surveyed by Reuters expected on average the government to report the harvest as 82% complete, up from 73% a week ago.

• For spring wheat, analysts on average expected the USDA to rate 52% of the crop in good or excellent condition, unchanged from a week ago. The spring wheat harvest was seen as 2% complete.

• The USDA reported export inspections of U.S. wheat in the latest week at 288,793 metric tons, below a range of trade expectations for 300,000 to 700,000 tons. USDA/I

• European wheat futures bounced on export optimism as a fall of the euro against the dollar made EU supplies more competitive on world markets.

• Russian wheat export prices continued to rise last week even as dry weather in the south of the country raised concerns about the harvest, while new wheat deliveries to ports were still picking up pace, analysts said.