CBOT wheat closes lower on plentiful world supplies

CHICAGO, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures ended lower on Monday, pressured by reminders of ample world grain supplies, traders said.

• CBOT March soft red winter wheat WH26 settled down 3-1/2 cents at $535 a bushel.

• K.C. March hard red winter wheat KWH26 ended down 3/4 cent at $5.26-3/4 a bushel and Minneapolis March spring wheat MWEH26 fell 2 cents to finish at $5.76 a bushel.

• The Australian government's ABARES agency raised its forecast for the country's 2025/26 wheat production by around 1.8 million metric tons to 35.6 million tons, cementing expectations for a bumper harvest.

• Favorable rains in Argentina and Australia have raised production potential in both wheat-exporting nations.

• Russian wheat export prices declined last week for a third consecutive week under pressure from global supply, analysts said.

• Ukraine's wheat harvest could rise to between 24 million and 25 million tons in 2026 from 23 million tons in 2025, Ukraine's deputy economy minister said.

• On the domestic front, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported export inspections of U.S. wheat in the latest week at 384,881 metric tons, below a range of trade estimates for 400,000 to 600,000 tons. USDA/I

• The USDA reported export sales of U.S. wheat in the week ended October 23 at 499,800 tons, in line with analyst estimates.