CBOT wheat rises on short covering after nearing six-week low

CHICAGO, Sept 29 (Reuters) — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed higher on short covering on Tuesday, traders said, after the market stumbled to its lowest level in almost six weeks. The Department of Agriculture is expected to report on Wednesday that US wheat stocks were 1.872 billion bushels as of September 1, down from 2.134 billion bushels a year earlier, according to a Reuters survey of analysts. The agency will also issue US wheat production estimates on Wednesday. Farmers are off to a slower start planting the winter wheat crop they will harvest in 2027. US winter wheat plantings were 27% complete as of Sunday, below the five-year average of 34%, USDA said after grain trading ended on Monday. Analysts expected 30%. CBOT December soft red winter wheat closed 4 cents higher at $6.92-3/4 per bushel. The contract earlier slid to $6.81-1/2 a bushel, its lowest level since August 19. K.C. December hard red winter wheat was last down 2-3/4 cents at $7.43 a bushel, and Minneapolis December spring wheat was down 2-1/4 cents at $6.99-1/4 a bushel. (Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Aurora Ellis) ((Thomas.Polansek@thomsonreuters.com)