CBOT wheat dips on position-squaring, India export prospects

CHICAGO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures fell on Friday, retreating from multi-month highs set a day earlier, as traders booked profits and squared positions ahead of a long U.S. holiday weekend, traders said.

• Additional pressure stemmed from news that India's government would allow the export of 2.5 million metric tons of wheat as the world's second-biggest producer sought to support local growers amid protests over a trade deal between India and the United States.

• CBOT March soft red winter wheat WH26 settled down 3-3/4 cents at $5.48-3/4 per bushel.

• For the week, the contract rose 19 cents a bushel or 3.59%, buoyed by short-covering, particularly in heavy-volume trade on Wednesday and Thursday, exchange data showed.

• K.C. March hard red winter wheat KWH26 ended Friday down 11-1/2 cents at $5.42-1/2 a bushel and Minneapolis March spring wheat MWEH26 fell 5-3/4 cents to finish at $5.71-3/4 a bushel.

• IKAR, a consultancy, raised its forecast of the 2026 wheat crop in Russia, the world's biggest exporter, to 91 million metric tons, from 88 million previously.

• Ratings for winter crops in France, the European Union's biggest grower, hit their best in three years, farm office FranceAgriMer data showed.

• U.S. markets and most government offices will be closed on Monday in observances of the Presidents Day holiday.