By Kirk Maltais


-- Wheat for March delivery rose 1.5% to $6.32 1/2 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday in response to news of new attacks in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

-- Corn for March delivery fell 0.5% to $4.74 1/2 a bushel.

-- Soybeans for March delivery fell 0.7% to $13.12 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Setting the Pace: CBOT wheat led the grains complex higher Thursday. Corn and soybeans briefly followed wheat before tailing off later in the session.

"Wheat is finding at least a bit of support again this morning on more action in the Black Sea," said Matt Zeller of StoneX in a note. An attack on a Russian warship by Ukrainian forces, along with Russia's promises for retaliation, provided wheat with support.


Awaiting Fate: South American weather remains the key factor in determining how thin U.S. soybean supplies may be stretched, if at all.

"It would not take a big increase in export demand to pull the U.S. carryout down to relatively tight levels, but if the export demand does not improve, soybean prices are going to continue to chop," said Tomm Pfitzenmaier of Summit Commodity Brokerage in a note.

China has been absent from buying large amounts of U.S. soybeans in recent sessions, which has traders re-evaluating if South American weather issues will amount to higher U.S. export demand.


INSIGHT


Nearing a Record: Average daily production of ethanol in the U.S. tied for the second-highest level ever posted, the EIA said Thursday.

In its latest weekly report, the EIA said average daily production through the week ended Dec. 22 landed at 1.107 million barrels a day. That is only 1,000 barrels a day off from the all-time record set in December 2017, and ties for the highest since October 2021.

The average is well above the forecasts of analysts surveyed by Dow Jones this week, who had forecast production to land between 1.065 million barrels a day and 1.071 million barrels a day. Higher ethanol production would support higher corn consumption and prices.


Renewable Fuels Platform: Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has voiced broad support for the U.S. ethanol industry, confirming support for various topics seen as important to the industry such as making E15 -- gasoline blended with 15% ethanol -- available year-round instead of only in certain months.

Haley and competitor Ron DeSantis both support a wide breadth of issues important to U.S. ethanol, such as preserving existing biofuel tax credits and pushing for higher-percentage ethanol blends being offered nationally. Other candidates, such as frontrunner Donald Trump, haven't expressed such wide support for these issues, said the Iowa Corn Growers Association in a release.


AHEAD


-- The USDA is scheduled to release its weekly export sales report at 8:30 a.m. EST Friday.

-- The USDA is due to release its monthly agricultural prices report at 3 p.m. EST Friday.

-- The CFTC is scheduled to release its weekly Commitments of Traders Report at 3:30 p.m. EST Friday.


Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-28-23 1526ET