CBOT wheat ends higher on short-covering, US government optimism

CHICAGO, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed higher on Monday on short-covering and spillover strength from grains, crude oil and equity markets tied to progress in Washington toward ending a government shutdown, brokers said.

• CBOT December soft red winter wheat WZ25 settled up 8 cents at $5.35-3/4 per bushel.

• K.C. December hard red winter wheat KWZ25 ended up 7-3/4 cents at $5.27 a bushel and Minneapolis December spring wheat MWEZ25 rose 6-1/4 cents to end at $5.64-1/4 a bushel.

• Traders were also positioning ahead of crop supply/demand reports due on Friday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will include the agency's first estimates of U.S. and global crop production and ending stocks since mid-September.

• Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average rated 52% of the U.S. winter wheat crop in good to excellent condition as of Sunday, unchanged from a week earlier. The USDA has not released its weekly U.S. crop progress report since late September.

• The USDA reported export inspections of U.S. wheat in the latest week at 290,513 metric tons, in line with trade expectations for 250,000 to 450,000 tons. USDA/I

• Euronext wheat futures edged lower as sales of Black Sea supplies to Egypt underscored export competition and countered support from a rebound in CBOT prices.

• Russian wheat export prices rose slightly last week while weekly shipments maintained their pace, according to analysts.