CORRECTED-CBOT wheat ends higher on hopes of China demand, technical buying

CHICAGO, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed higher on Monday on hopes of renewed Chinese purchases and technical buying including short-covering, traders said.

• CBOT December soft red winter wheat WZ25 settled up 9-1/2 cents at $5.43-1/2 per bushel.

• K.C. December hard red winter wheat KWZ25 ended up 7-1/4 cents at $5.31-3/4 a bushel and Minneapolis December spring wheat MWEZ25 rose 5-1/2 cents to finish at $5.58-1/2 a bushel.

• Support stemmed from reports China was interested in buying U.S. wheat.

• European wheat futures rose to a two-month high, supported by export-boosting euro weakness and rumors of Chinese demand for U.S. wheat.

• Open interest in CBOT wheat futures dropped from around 540,000 contracts in mid-October to roughly 510,000 contracts after Friday's close, during a span of time when futures rose, fueling ideas that speculators have been covering short positions.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported export inspections of U.S. wheat in the latest week at 350,293 metric tons, in line with a range of trade expectations for 250,000 to 450,000 tons. USDA/I

• Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average estimated U.S. winter wheat planting as 91% complete, up from last week's average trade estimate of 84%.