Wheat drops

Chicago : Chicago wheat futures dropped to a 2-1/2-week low on Friday on outlooks for rains by this weekend that should alleviate stress on some crops in the parched U.S. Plains growing region, traders said.

CBOT May contract wheat settled down 11 cents at $4.67-3/4 per bushel, bringing the losses for the week to more than 6 percent - the biggest weekly decline since August.

"They really increased rain chances from yesterday, through overnight and into the morning hours," Midwest Marketing Solutions analyst Brian Hoops said of the weather forecast.

Wheat had fallen below several moving averages on Thursday, triggering selling. "There´s bearish fundamentals and bearish technical action," Hoops added.

Rains on Sunday and Monday will benefit the northeastern half of the Plains wheat belt but will likely miss the main drought areas in southern Kansas and Oklahoma, according to meteorologists and analysts.