CBOT wheat pulls back from six-week high as US weather worries ease

CHICAGO, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures backpedaled from a six-week high on Monday as concerns eased about potential crop damage due to brutally cold weather in the U.S. and Russia, analysts said.

• Snow that blanketed farm fields during a U.S. winter storm over the weekend provided crops with needed moisture and helped protect them from cold weather, analysts said.

• Traders took profits as it seemed that fewer areas were at risk for damage, an analyst said.

• Still, extreme cold over the weekend likely damaged dormant crops in northeastern Colorado, most of Nebraska and far northwestern Kansas, according to weather firm Vaisala.

• CBOT March soft red winter wheat WH26 closed down 7 cents at $5.22-1/2 per bushel. The contract earlier reached its highest level since December 12.

• K.C. March hard red winter wheat KWH26 ended down 11 cents at $5.29-3/4 a bushel. The contract earlier reached its highest level since the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued bearish data for grain markets on January 12.

• Minneapolis March spring wheat MWEH26 was down 5-1/4 cents at $5.69-3/4 a bushel at the close of trading, after rising to the highest level since December 31.