--Corn for December delivery rose 1.3% to $4.25 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Wednesday, pushing to a July 2019 high as the USDA confirmed a new purchase of U.S. corn exports.

--Soybeans for January delivery rose 0.5% to $11.75 3/4 a bushel, their highest close since June 2016.

--Wheat for December delivery rose 0.4% to $5.97 3/4 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Corn-firmation: The USDA announced a new flash sale of U.S. corn to unknown destinations, confirming that 140,000 metric tons were sold. For grains traders anticipating China's need for corn will lead to more U.S. corn buying, Wednesday's sale announcement was supportive for prices. Also supportive is the sentiment that compared to other corn offered globally, U.S. corn is still cheap. "Although there has been a sizable price rally, limited demand rationing is occurring," said AgResource. "U.S. Gulf corn is the cheapest source of corn supply through April and likely May as Argentine exporters raise their fob basis bids amid crop shortfalls."

Oil Pressure: Soybean futures on the CBOT were driven in big part by higher futures for soy products--namely soyoil, which also traded at its highest level since June 2014. "The world vegetable oil markets are in a 'food vs. fuel' fight that has not taken place since 2012," said Tomm Pfitzenmaier of Summit Commodity Brokerage. "This will put a strain on world biodiesel margins and as world oil supplies dwindle and demand builds, prices for both beans and bean oil will be forced higher." Soyoil futures closed at $38.46 per pound Wednesday, up 2.6%.

INSIGHTS

Vexed By Virus: Production of ethanol in the U.S. fell in the past week, while inventories rose. The EIA data suggest the resurgence of coronavirus nationwide is taking a bite out of gasoline consumption in the U.S., and eating into ethanol usage. "The modest recovery in U.S. ethanol production since late August leads us to believe U.S. corn for ethanol use could fall short of USDA's projection, but that will depend on gasoline demand after the new year," said Terry Reilly of Futures International.

Lowered Expectations: Although an export sale was confirmed Wednesday that traders believed was bound for China, weekly export sales for U.S. corn and soybeans are expected to decline off last week's figures, according to grains traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. Traders expect corn exports to total anywhere from 600,000 metric tons to 1 million tons, and soybean exports around 500,000 tons to 1.2 million tons. Unless the USDA reports figures Thursday exceeding these estimates, these totals will be down from last week--possibly reversing the momentum seen on prices this week.

Global Gains: Global corn prices continue to rise, which runs counter to rumors there will be a massive increase in import quotas, said Darin Friedrichs, senior Asia commodity analyst at StoneX. "We're just not seeing much fear of that in the prices," he said. Corn prices in China have rallied in recent months, as stocks have run low and domestic production doesn't run close to being able to meet domestic demand.

AHEAD:

--The USDA will release its latest weekly export sales numbers at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday.

--The USDA will release its monthly livestock slaughter report at 3 p.m. ET Thursday.

--The USDA will release its monthly cattle on feed report at 3 p.m. ET Friday.

--The CFTC releases its weekly commitment of traders report at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday.

--Lucy Craymer contributed to this article.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-18-20 1544ET