CBOT wheat ends lower in technical moves, export competition

CHICAGO, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed lower on Friday on follow-through selling after Thursday's weak technical close and persistent export competition from Black Sea suppliers, traders said.

• CBOT December soft red winter wheat WZ24 settled down 4-1/4 cents at $5.80 per bushel. However, for the week, the contract rose 11-1/2 cents a bushel, or 2%.

• K.C. December hard red winter wheat KWZ24 ended down 2-1/4 cents at $5.76-3/4 a bushel and MGEX December spring wheat MWEZ24 fell 3-1/4 cents at $6.08-1/4.

• Traders were evening up positions ahead of the USDA's quarterly stocks and annual small grains summary reports, both due on Monday.

• Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect the USDA to report Sept. 1 wheat stocks at a four-year high of 1.973 billion bushels, and to trim its estimate of U.S. 2024/25 wheat production.

• The European Commission reduced its forecast for usable production of common wheat in the European Union in 2024/25 to a 12-year low as it continued to factor in adverse weather in the bloc.

(Reporting by Julie Ingwersen; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

((Julie.ingwersen@thomsonreuters.com; 1-313-484-5283; Reuters Messaging: julie.ingwersen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))