CBOT wheat ends higher on strong demand

CHICAGO, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures ticked higher on Thursday on strong demand and signs of planting delays for the U.S. winter wheat crop in the U.S. Plains.

• CBOT December soft red winter wheat WZ25 settled 5-1/2 cents higher at $5.14-3/4 per bushel.

• K.C. December hard red winter wheat KWZ25 ended 3-1/2 cents higher at $4.99 a bushel and Minneapolis December spring wheat MWEZ25 rose 3-1/2 cents to finish at $5.60-1/2 a bushel.

• A U.S. government shutdown since Wednesday, amid political deadlock over budget funding, will likely delay the release of key USDA data.

• The dollar fell to near a one-week low on Thursday as traders weighed the impact of the U.S. government shutdown, while poor jobs data boosted expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates two more times this year.

• A weaker dollar tends to make U.S. exports cheaper and more competitive on the global market.