US wheat futures end mixed as forecasts call for rains in Plains

CHICAGO, April 7 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures closed mixed on Tuesday, with Chicago Board of Trade soft wheat futures ending higher and Kansas City hard wheat futures drifting lower on forecasts for much-needed rain this week in portions of the U.S. Plains hard wheat belt.

• CBOT May soft red winter wheat WK26 settled up 2-3/4 cents at $5.98 per bushel.

• K.C. May hard red winter wheat KWK26 ended down 3/4 cent at $6.07-1/2 a bushel, losing ground to CBOT wheat on inter-market spreading.

• Minneapolis May spring wheat MWEK26 settled down 3-1/2 cents at $6.41 a bushel.

• Forecasts called for rain later this week in a swathe of the U.S. Plains, where hard wheat crops are emerging from winter dormancy and resuming growth.

• While showers were expected to fall short in western areas of the Plains, the forecasts still tempered concerns about drought stress and lower-than-expected U.S. wheat condition ratings.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday rated just 35% of the winter wheat crop in good-to-excellent condition, a three-year low.

• The USDA said spring wheat planting was 2% complete.

• Market players await the USDA's next monthly supply/demand report on Thursday. Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expected the USDA to trim its projection of U.S. end-year wheat stocks.