CBOT wheat ends firm on signs of global export business

CHICAGO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed higher on Wednesday on signs of global export business but remained in a narrow trading range as ample global wheat supplies hung over the market, traders said.

• CBOT December soft red winter wheat WZ25 settled up 3-1/2 cents at $5.03-3/4 per bushel.

• The contract continued to hover near last week's low of $4.92-1/4, which marked a five-year low for benchmark Wv1 CBOT wheat futures.

• K.C. December hard red winter wheat KWZ25 ended up 3-1/2 cents on Wednesday at $4.88-1/2 a bushel and Minneapolis December spring wheat MWEZ25 finished up 3 cents at $5.47-3/4 a bushel.

• Algeria’s state grains agency OAIC bought milling wheat in an international tender, European traders said.

• The size of the Algerian purchase was not initially clear but some initial estimates were as high as 600,000 metric tons. Traders suspected the wheat would be sourced from the Black Sea region or Argentina.

• Euronext wheat rose in step with U.S. futures as the Algerian tender suggested recent price lows had encouraged some import demand.

• Analysts surveyed by Reuters estimated export sales of U.S. wheat in the week ended October 16 at 350,000 to 650,000 metric tons.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture normally publishes weekly export sales data every Thursday, but the agency has suspended reporting of the data due to a lapse in federal funding.